The battle for St George’s North is a battle between two titans — Dame Jennifer Smith and Mayor Kenneth Bascome. Both are popular figures with a national profile.Dame Jennifer, 65, has achieved iconic stature as a politician and is by far the most politically experienced of the two. She was only 25 years old when she first became a candidate in 1972, and her canvassing in St George’s North over the years played a determining role in ending the United Bermuda Party’s dominance in the area.“Every election I’ve run has been different. What has been important for me is that the people who have made that journey with me are now in the third generation,” she told The Royal Gazette.“They’ve shown that they support not just the Progressive Labour Party but my candidacy. And the promise I make to my constituents is the same promise I make every election. And that is I will be their best representative because I will do my best. I do not offer a chicken in every pot or any other inducements.”A bartender’s daughter, Dame Jennifer is a proud St Georgian, having grown up on Shinbone Alley in the old town. She received an Associates Degree in Art from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh in 1970 and did a stint as a journalist before embarking on what would be a lifetime in politics.She steadily climbed the ranks of the Progressive Labour Party which she led to its first victory at the polls in 1998.With just over 50 percent of the vote in each of the last two elections, Dame Jennifer Smith has managed to keep St George’s North in the hand of the Progressive Labour Party.Each time she has faced Kenneth Bascome a former Progressive Labour Party member who defected to the ranks of the opposition shortly after the party’s historic 1998 victory at the polls.Mr Bascome came within eight votes to unseating the then Premier in 2003, when Gavin Smith threw his hat in the ring as an independent candidate.Faced with a revolt from her own side following that election, Dame Jennifer resigned the Premiership, only to re-enter Cabinet as Education Minister seven years later.Mr Bascome, on the other hand, went on to become Mayor of St George’s in the 2009 municipal elections and was re-elected under new universal suffrage rules in 2012.Born and bred on Wellington Hill, in the neighbouring St George’s West, 64 year old Mr Bascome also has an intimate connection to the area. He has served in various capacities on the Corporation since 1994, and operated several small businesses including a 22 year stint as operator of the beach concession at Tobacco Bay.Mr Bascome had his brushes with the law as a young man and works with today’s youth to help them stay on the straight and narrow.His key promises to the voters is that the district will get a fully functioning fire station and a police station and that the town’s sewerage problem will be dealt with.As he said in his candidate unveiling: “There are many issues in the Town of St George that I believe have been neglected over the years.“I have an integral understanding of what is required in the Town of St George, gained through some 18 years’ service with the Corporation of St George’s. I’ve operated businesses in the town of St George.”Dame Jennifer, for her part, noted that Mr Bascome was now serving his second term as Mayor of the old town.