The Progressive Labour Party’s Jamahl Simmons said he had not planned to run for Parliament in Sandys South, but constituents called on him to put his name forward.

Unemployment, Mr Simmons said, is “the biggest issue, bar none” — along with a growing sense that Bermudians are being “excluded in our own country”.

He told The Royal Gazette: “The top issue for me on the constituency level would be connecting with our youth and helping the disenchanted and disillusioned find a pathway back into our society.

“We simply cannot afford to throw away Bermudians. We each must do everything we can to reach and elevate the conditions of our young people.

“This is an issue that must become a priority as we face losing the next generation to the streets, or in the form of a brain drain to other countries.”

On the national level, he said his strongest passion was for black economic empowerment, while pushing for “greater fairness and diversity in the hiring, training and promotion of Bermudians”.

“While I would be elected to represent all, I believe that due to racial disparities in employment rates and salaries, as well as the striking lack of diversity at the top, we must devote attention to addressing this issue,” he said.

Asked about the closure and demolition of the Somerset Bridge Recreation Club, Mr Simmons said its loss, in hindsight, could be seen as a blessing in disguise, as some of the seeds of Bermuda’s gang violence began there.

“This was because White Hill was, and still is, a place where people from all over the Island came to socialise,” he said.

“While the area is still subject to antisocial behaviour, as are many places across Bermuda, many of the young men at the time of demolition have now become the leading examples of young black men transforming themselves into positive contributors to society. Many are now entrepreneurs and excellent fathers. Some believe these same men would be either dead or imprisoned if the club, at that time, had not been demolished.

“People who speak about White Hill but never show their face to lend a helping hand, nor engage with the young people, cannot be taken seriously and do not have the elevation of our young people at heart.

“Those who understand the challenge involved with operating our community clubs and are willing to get their hands dirty and do the work are the ones that the young people respect and will listen to. I am willing to do the work, get my hands dirty and earn their respect.”

On the topic of security concerns in Sandys South, where police in recent years were sent to disperse groups of people congregating in public, Mr Simmons said that with so many out of work and “beginning to believe that Bermuda isn’t working for Bermudians”, it was more a social issue than a police issue — although he said there remained a need for more neighbourhood watch groups.

He said the PLP’s Job Corps programme, dropped when the One Bermuda Alliance assumed Government, would have provided a pathway for young people.

He said that he made no apology for believing that Bermudians should come first in their own country.

“I’m excited at the opportunity to come back home, be among my people and fight for them,” he said.

“I am driven not just by their support and encouragement, but by the belief that Bermuda is heading in the wrong direction and that we must fight against the marginalisation of our people.”