A former member of the One Bermuda Alliance will be running in the General Election as an independent candidate.

Businessman Steven Faries will contest Sandys South Central (Constituency 34) to give voters “that other option”.

Mr Faries will be up against incumbent Kim Wilson, the Minister of Health. Ms Wilson won the seat comfortably for the PLP in 2020, securing more than 75 per cent of the vote.

The OBA will be represented by Chris Gauntlett.

At a press conference today, Mr Faries said that many people he had spoken with did not believe in party politics.

He said: “I can say that a lot of people that I have actually spoken to within my demographic, which is between the ages of 35 and 45 — they don’t really want to vote.

“They don’t have a desire to vote and I felt it was my obligation to actually be that option for them or be that voice for them if they didn’t want to vote for either of the parties.

“I am born and raised from Somerset. My passion is my community and I felt that it was time for me to not just say things without people hearing but actually be out there, communicating some of the things that people have issues with, whatever it may be, so I want to be that voice.

“So I want to be an option. I want to be that other option that people can have.”

His roll-out was held at The Flower Bar on Reid Street, which is owned and operated by Mr Faries.

He said that his experiences running his own business had shown him that more needed to be done to encourage start-ups.

He said: “I’m an entrepreneur. I own my own business and I feel that there is support that needs to happen to engage people to want to be an entrepreneur — give them that hope that they can be there.

“I’ve mentored many young men who want to come around and open up a business and they feel that they can’t. I want to say that you can.

“I started my business from my garage and I’m here today with the business that I have, so just really empowering that message.”

Mr Faries was selected as the OBA candidate for Sandys North (Constituency 34) after the 2020 General Election but later decided to take “a step back” from politics to focus on his growing business interests.

However, a call last year by former premier Sir John Swan for independent candidates to stand reignited Mr Faries’ interest in politics.

He said: “At that time I was more concentrating on my business and it wasn’t a good fit for me.

“I took a step back, re-evolved my business, and tried to figure out different things I wanted to do and it [politics] still became a passion of mine. I had heard about the independent movement. I wanted to be a part of that movement.

“I didn’t join a group. I had an opportunity. I was a part of the OBA. I had the opportunity to be part of the ‘in-party’. It came to me when I saw Sir John. He was out there doing his thing. That was the fire for me. And I was like ‘maybe this is something that Bermuda needs to see’.

“I felt it was something new that could be done and I think it’s going to be a part of history. I want to be a part of that and that’s the reason why I chose to do this.”

Like other independent candidates who have confirmed their intention to run recently, Mr Faries said that the island needed to work together to solve issues.

He said: “I am not a politician but I’m here to represent my constituents in Somerset.

“I am willing to learn and know about it, specifically when it comes to the election. I know a little bit about what is going on but I think it’s more the voice, representing the people, giving that voice to them, and if I do get elected I will be that voice for them, because I’m committed to doing that.

“I feel that one thing about me is I hold very high integrity and I’m a good listener. I feel that I want to listen to what my constituents have to say, and it’s all about bringing people together.

“I’m a very community-minded person and it starts in our community, it doesn’t start anywhere else, so it’s about bringing those people together.”