Former United Bermuda Party branch chairman David Tavares is mulling a run for Parliament as an Independent.Mr Tavares, who served in various positions with the United Bermuda Party until 2003, sent a letter to 200 constituents of Smith’s South asking them to contact him to discuss the key issues of “independent representation and the state of party politics”.“My goal is to offer myself as an individual who will present both sides of the case on issues so we can better represent the constituents of Smith’s South. If I do have a favourable response I will continue to pursue it.”While Mr Tavares says he is “testing the waters” and seeking feedback before making a decision, he is decidedly pro-independent candidacies.His letter to the Smith’s South constituents begins with his opinion that “partisan politics is more destructive than good for our Island home and we need to fix it.”It goes on to say that the two-party system is “broken because the two extreme ideologies require party loyalty to those ideals”.He said: “We can no longer rely on this process to sustain a viable solution to political reform. Independent representation can work with party representation without towing the party line, and break the ‘grid lock’ between the two political parties.”Mr Tavares has been canvassing with David Sullivan who ran as an Independent against One Bermuda Alliance’s Craig Cannonier and the ruling party’s Anthony Richardson in the Devonshire South Central by-election.“I do believe that partisan politics has reached its course,” he told The Royal Gazette.“I have always been a firm believer on the issue of independent representation.”He said he will make a final decision once he gets feedback from the voters of Smith’s South. “I’m not officially announcing my candidacy as an Independent, but I’m not far from it. I feel confident that I will get some support.”He went on to say that he was aware of three others who planned to run independently in other constituencies.Mr Tavares said a combination of disenchantment with parties and politics as usual was behind the fact that more people were willing to run independently as well as an” overall disillusionment by quite a number of people”.“It’s unfortunate that we don’t have a third choice under the existing political process. And this is what we’re trying to accomplish give these people who don’t wish to continue to support the Progressive Labour Party but won’t support the OBA [another option]. And I’m hoping to be that sort of representation.”Mr Tavares has been involved in politics since 1992 when Grant Gibbons challenged Trevor Moniz and Jim Woolridge, and won the Smith’s South seat. “A gentleman who‘s always considered a maverick won the day back in 1992 and he’s still in politics today,” he said of that contest. “So, the Smith’s South representative has always been, in my view, independent-minded people they just happened to be carrying the UBP banner at the time.”