In the latest in The Royal Gazette’s series on marginal constituencies, Owain Johnston-Barnes looks at Southampton East Central.Southampton East Central boasts several West End landmarks.The Reefs and the Fairmont Southampton Princess both sit in the constituency as does the iconic Gibbs Hill Lighthouse, Henry VIII Restaurant and the Waterlot Inn.Constituency 30 was one of the areas most affected by the recent boundary changes. Nearly a third of its voters were moved to Southampton East, while 219 voters were transferred into the constituency from Southampton East.The change is expected to support the challenging OBA as those who traditionally voted PLP were moved to the neighbouring constituency.Health Minister Zane DeSilva, who narrowly defeated David Dodwell by 48 votes in the 2007 election, has moved with the voters into Southampton East.He battles the OBA’s Jon Brunson in that constituency as two rookie candidates fight for his seat in the House of Assembly.Former Chamber of Commerce head Stephen Todd will represent the PLP; lawyer and community activist Leah Scott hopes to win the seat for the OBA.Both candidates have said they believe national issues to be the main focus of the constituents, and those who spoke with The Royal Gazette agreed.Reginald Minors said: "We’re concerned about the crime that’s running throughout Bermuda. We are getting more concerned because it’s getting closer to home.“I think the economy is clearly an issue jobs; people are out of work. It’s frightening.”Mr Minors said that the Government’s treatment of Gibbs Hill Lighthouse was disgraceful.“Every time I see it my pride drops a bit.“It’s not just the lighthouse itself, but how Public Works or the Department of Parks are treating the area around the lighthouse. They are not keeping it as pristine as it should be.“The walk between Southampton Princess and the lighthouse is one of the most dangerous walks you could want to take. There’s no reason on Earth why these things can’t be fixed.”He intends to throw his support behind Ms Scott who he described as an intelligent woman and a fresh face in politics.A senior who lives near the lighthouse agreed that its state is a matter of concern.“It’s in bad shape and needs a good painting and scraping, but it will be done,” she said. “It just takes time, and the world wasn’t made in a day.”She praised Mr Todd, saying that he recently went out of his way to drive her to and from a tea party event.“Stephen is a fine gentleman, and he keeps his word. Today we need more gentlemen like Stephen.”Another resident, who asked not to be named, said the economy was the main issue concerning voters and Mr Todd was in the best position to handle it.“Unfortunately, I think the economy issue is too big for either party to handle on their own,” he said. “We need the assistance and the buy-in from the business community, and that’s why I support Mr Todd.“He is a business person. He has had many years’ experience in the banking industry. He has a clear grasp of how business works, and I think that is the main issue.”Overall, he said the national issues are what will motivate voters in the constituency.“I think this is a bit more of a settled community. I don’t see the issues like the gang issues. We don’t see the issues driven by poverty.“What we see are the trickle-down issues like the economy, where people are having difficulty paying their mortgage because they no longer have a tenant.”A Middle Road woman meanwhile said she would vote along party lines, but praised both candidates.“If it was purely up to the candidate, I wouldn’t be able to make a choice,” she said. “They both seem very capable, but the problems are not here. We’re feeling the strain from everywhere else.”While she did not want to say who she intended to vote for, her biggest issue was finding full-time employment.“I’m working two jobs and still run hustles when I can. People are not looking to hire someone for 40 hours anymore. You have to find work where you can if you want to keep the lights on.“We need to get people working full-time again so we can have money and spend money and keep it rolling. We can’t make things better with this kink in the chain.”Kathleen Faries agreed that the economy is at the heart of voters’ concerns.“There are many related issues but without a stronger economy we will not be in a position to tackle many of the other problems we are ultimately facing.“We need to grow the economy through a well thought out five-year plan. We need to, at the same time, get a handle on spending.”She also stressed the need for community-based programmes throughout the Island.“We are a very small place,” she said. “We can and should earnestly come together for the good of each other and the Island.”Ms Faries plans to support Ms Scott on Monday, saying she believes the OBA candidate has “the right mix of compassion and guts”.