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New team sweeps to power in Hamilton

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Graeme Outerbridge was named the Mayor of Hamilton last night at City Hall. (Photo by Akil Simmons) May 10,2012

Graeme Outerbridge is the Mayor of Hamilton following an historic night of glory for Team Hamilton.All eight of Mr Outerbridge’s group were swept into power as City residents exercised their new right to vote by booting out all the existing Corporation of Hamilton team.Mr Outerbridge defeated incumbent Mayor Charles Gosling by 109 votes to 88, although the turnout of just 203 was less than a third of the 687 registered voters in the City.Jubilant Team Hamilton members promised a brighter future for some of the City’s ‘forgotten’ areas, with new Alderman Gwyneth Rawlins telling The Royal Gazette: “People were crying out for change. I think we touched the hearts of the people.”Mrs Rawlins was joined by fellow Team Hamilton candidates Carlton Simmons and Donal Smith as Aldermen, with John Harvey and Dennis Tucker losing their seats, and Marshall Minors failing in his bid to step up from Common Councillor.Anthony Davis, George Scott, Lawrence Scott and Troy Symonds all won seats as Common Councillors. RoseAnn Edwards, another newcomer as Common Councillor, was the only member of Mr Gosling’s team to win a place.Walter Cross, Pamela Quarterly and Nicholas Swan all lost their positions as Common Councillors.Meanwhile in St George’s, Kenneth Bascome comfortably fought off the challenge of Alfonso Harris to continue as Mayor for another three years.Yesterday was the first Ordinary Election since electoral reform passed in 2010, giving each Hamilton and St George’s resident the right to vote.Previously, residential ratepayers, property owners and business owners were allowed to vote multiple times, depending on the number of buildings they possessed.Team Hamilton had targeted newly franchised voters, promising to bring more attention to areas of the City they claimed had been neglected.After 11pm last night, an ecstatic Mr Outerbridge emerged from the City Hall counting room to cheers from other members of Team Hamilton and their families.“I’m elated. It’s an amazing feeling,” he told The Royal Gazette.Contrasting last night’s result with past failures in his political career, Mr Outerbridge continued: “The number of times I’ve been in elections and not crossed the line. This feels good.”He said voters in less well-off areas of the City had spoken, underlined by the fact North East Hamilton resident Ms Edwards got more votes than any other candidate.On his immediate plans, he said: “I’m going to be evaluating everything, taking stock and listening to the people to see where we go from here.”Mrs Rawlins, a former United Bermuda Party chairwoman now with the Progressive Labour Party, said: “We’re ready to jump in there to do what we need to do for the City of Hamilton. It’s the most exhilarating feeling. I believe we at Team Hamilton were chosen to work together.“Everywhere we went in various neighbourhoods, we were listening to stories of disenchantment. We had what they were asking for.”She said security will be the team’s number one issue.PLP Pembroke South East candidate Rolfe Commissiong, who supported Team Hamilton’s campaign, said: “What we are witnessing is the birth of democracy in the City.“The PLP needs to be commended for forging ahead and bringing democracy to the City of Hamilton. The party has always been the midwife for franchise in Bermuda.”A despondent Mr Gosling said: “I’m disappointed. It was a well organised group and they did very, very well on the day.”The outgoing Mayor reflected on the low turnout, saying he would have expected about 50 percent of residents to vote.Mr Simmons argued he’d seen a large proportion of younger voters throughout the day.“One of the proudest bits of the day for myself was our ability to drag the young people out,” he said.“The majority of people in this Country didn’t vote before 1998. Maybe they’ve voted twice in their lifetime. We have had to spend a good bit of time educating people about how to vote multiple times.”

Charles Gosling(Photo by Akil Simmons) May 10,2012