The idiom “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” can be taken literally or figuratively. In the instance of Lindsay Simmons, the Progressive Labour Party candidate for Constituency 10, the idiom applies in both contexts.

Let me explain.

Candidate Simmons reluctantly told the public that when she started canvassing in Constituency 10 in September 2023, before knowing former MP Michael Dunkley would resign on March 31, 2024, and force a by-election, she was advised of a problem for residents on Bridle Hill. The private estate road had deteriorated, making it unsafe for heavy vehicles such as trash trucks to traverse.

Her solution? Every Wednesday evening, she collects the neighbourhood trash and takes it to an area where it can be collected. Why? Because many residents are elderly and she would want the same for her elderly parents.

Literally one neighbourhood’s trash became a candidate’s treasure! And for the literary purists, she does not take the trash home!

Figuratively, the idiom speaks to our different value systems. One Bermuda Alliance candidate Robert King’s response was a flippant “Candidate Simmons was covering up for the PLP administration”. And many in the public commented that they would never pick up someone else’s trash. Candidate Simmons further explained that her life’s activities reflected a commitment to service. She saw picking up trash as a “no-brainer” after helping other neighbourhoods to cut grass and solve many other problems. Her value — be solution-oriented to make things happen — is a very different value orientation than both OBA candidate King and many residents.

Some will say I am biased. Guilty as charged! I have been the recipient of her random acts of kindness.

Candidate Simmons extends her big heart to foster parenting, the annual Angel Tree to buy specific Christmas gifts for children in foster care, and Big Brothers Big Sisters, scholarships targeted for students in foster care, spearheads the fundraising for a minibus for Dellwood students, special fundraising for people in need, and a host of other activities.

On May 10, I was witness to the testimony of her first foster child, a well-adjusted, 21-year-old university sophomore student with a near-perfect 3.9 GPA.

I will finish where I started.

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Candidate Simmons epitomises the idiom “one neighbourhood’s trash has become her treasure”. Let’s turn out in force on May 15 and 22 to allow Lindsay Simmons to work even harder as our next Member of Parliament.

• Anthony Richardson is the government MP for Hamilton South (Constituency 7)

• Comments are closed on political content until after the May 22 by-election to stem the flow of purposefully inflammatory and litigious comments during the election cycle. Users who introduce extreme partisan comments into other news content will be banned