A Warwick resident running as an independent candidate hopes to bring transparency to Parliament if elected.

Gavin Kennedy, running in Warwick West (Constituency 28), said he was campaigning on a theme of open communication.

Mr Kennedy said he would tackle issues in tourism and education as an MP, and called on citizens to get involved in politics if they wanted to see change in their communities.

He added: “I want people to know that the normal person, with the help of their community, can possibly make a difference.”

Mr Kennedy announced his candidacy on January 17. He will go up against Victoria Cunningham for the One Bermuda Alliance and Dennis Lister III of the Progressive Labour Party.

He told The Royal Gazette last month that he wanted to focus on strengthening tourism and education to improve living standards.

Mr Kennedy said he recognised efforts to improve the economy and bring down the cost of living, such as cuts on import duties and the passing of the corporate income tax.

The proposed tax would take 15 per cent from the annual profits of multinational companies making more than €750 million, or about $808 million.

Mr Kennedy said that, while he believed PLP’s cuts on duty for items such as essential foods was a good way to lessen the cost of living, it would not tackle the problem as a whole.

He called the Government’s reliance on the impending CIT revenues misguided because reinsurance profits were not always stable.

Mr Kennedy instead proposed dismantling the Bermuda Casino Gaming Commission and diverting its operating funds towards education or care for seniors.

He suggested changing the Bermuda Tourism Authority Amendment Act 2018, which gave the tourism minister power to appoint members to the BTA board.

Mr Kennedy called for the Government’s role to be taken out of the BTA, saying it had “tanked” after political involvement increased.

He said the BTA had faltered under mismanagement, and that the Government should “never have been allowed to interfere”.

Mr Kennedy insisted that the BTA should work independently while the Government channelled its funding into boosting tourism.

He added: “When the BTA re-evolves after this election, if there’s a change in Government, I strongly believe the BTA could come out as a better entity.”

Mr Kennedy also proposed promoting Bermuda as a connection for flights across the Atlantic, to bring more year-round aviation business and help tourism.

He called for more sporting events to attract visitors, similar to the Bermuda PGA Championship.

He said that he hoped to boost the presence of Bermudians in tourism, with more pathways for young Bermudians to get trained.

Mr Kennedy also spoke up for overseas voting to give Bermudians studying abroad a say in their country’s direction.

He said: “It may not solve all of the problems, but it’s a step in the right direction.”

Mr Kennedy said he got involved with politics after growing tired of “taking a back seat for years”.

He said that he “lost confidence” in the previous government and believed it had been too intent on inter-party fighting to be effective.

Mr Kennedy added that he was inspired to run without a party allegiance by the Smith’s North (Constituency 10) by-election last April, when Sir John Swan, a former premier, ran as an independent candidate.

Sir John received 184 votes — edging past Lindsay Simmons for the Progressive Labour Party by three votes — but lost to Robert King of the One Bermuda Alliance, who had 209 votes.

Mr Kennedy said that he believed Bermuda had “matured”, with the majority of the island no longer supporting party politics.

He added: “The time has come to take ownership of where we are today and work for tomorrow, next week, next month and next year.”