A former United Bermuda Party branch chairman, David Tavares, has decided to stand as an independent candidate for Constituency #8, Smith’s South.Mr Tavares has been mulling his decision since last year and says he has been encouraged by feedback from the constituents.According to his own survey, 43 percent of the constituents support “a voice for a balanced change”, but 27 percent “don’t believe an independent can make a difference and will not vote in fear of splitting the vote”.Another 30 percent “fully agree with the need to change the dynamics of partisan politics”.Mr Tavares will be running against the ruling party’s Linda Merritt. The One Bermuda Alliance has not yet announced its candidate for the district, but the incumbent is Cole Simons who scored a strong 673 votes to beat the ruling party’s Jane Correia in 2007.Mr Tavares says in a letter to the constituents that he wants to discuss the “key issues” of the economy, safety, education, seniors and “personal accountability to reduce dependency on government funded programmes”.