Leah ScottFirst-time candidate Leah Scott believes rebuilding the family unit is the key to rebuilding Bermuda.The lawyer and community activist described herself as “a working mother who never waited around for a change”.She joined the OBA because she didn’t like the direction the Island was heading in.In her walks through the community she found some residents concerned about regional issues, such as road works and lighting, but most were interested in matters that affected residents across the Island.“The big concerns people are telling me about are the more national issues. The economy, jobs, things that are not just specific to the area; the shootings and break-ins. It’s the general concern about the state of the Country.“People are very interested in change. Not just change for the sake of change, but a change in ideas. The current Government has lost touch with people.“I think the solutions put forward by the OBA are going to assist the Country in rebuilding and the most important thing right now is getting people back to work.”She said more must be done to encourage international businesses to come and remain, and to do that the companies must be able to bring in the staff they require.“We need to make sure that Bermudians are taken care of, but we must also allow companies to bring in the people they need to run the business,” she said.“We need to have job creators, and the job creators are international businesses.”Work must also be done to rebuild tourism and decrease the growing national debt, she said.However she argued that the solution to the majority of the Island’s woes lies in the family unit.“What has happened is we have had a deterioration of the family unit,” she said.“Parents now have to work two jobs to sustain that standard of living, and the children migrate to where they are going to get that support they would get from the family.”Stephen ToddA first-time candidate, the PLP’s Stephen Todd said he hopes to represent not only Southampton East Central, but Bermuda as a whole.He gained experience with issues in the West End through his work with the Bermuda National Bank and later Butterfield Bank.He became the chairman of the West End Division of the Chamber of Commerce in 2004, and the first black Bermudian president of the Chamber of Commerce in 2009.Mr Todd said he was happy to be asked to be the PLP candidate for the constituency, and has enjoyed meeting with the residents on their doorsteps.“The parochial concerns are all generally area specific the speed of traffic, improving the lighting in some neighbourhoods and access to public transportation for seniors,” he said.“We have started to address some of the concerns already. I was pleased to see that the Ministry of Works and Engineering is on the Angel Steps road widening process near Waterlot Inn, which was a long-standing concern for area residents.”Repairs to Gibbs Hill Lighthouse will hopefully come soon, he said, noting that Estates Minister Michael Scott recently announced the project has been put out to tender.However, he added: “Most of the people I have spoken to are more concerned with the national issues, like the lack of work, unemployment, crime and safety.“I’m looking not just at representing the people who live in this constituency, but looking at the overall contribution that I can make for the betterment of Bermuda.”While the constituency has been one of the most drastically effected by boundary changes, Mr Todd said: “I don’t think it has affected me adversely in any way at all. I have been received quite warmly by the residents in Southampton East Central. They have been quite accommodating.“They have been very frank with me, and I think we have had frank and honest conversations.”