Citing new business interests, community activist and businessman Charles Spanswick has abandoned plans to become Mayor of Hamilton.

"My main reason why I'm not running is that I have just merged with a medical company that I am associated with," said Mr. Spanswick.

Mr. Spanswick, 57, has announced his candidacy three times, and says that there have been some improvements in the way the City is being taken care of.

"For instance the new sidewalk in front of the Cabinet Office. That was fixed a month of so before Veteran's Day. It took me almost four years to get it taken care of... The Premier slipped on it four years ago."

But he remained concerned that there were too many common councillors who had been in place too long.

A complete overhaul is needed, he said, for any mayor to be successful.

"There are six common councillors and I've only been able to find two...The system will never change because the membership has been there too long. I would have no power as mayor."

He was also concerned at what he saw as a usurpation of the Mayor's responsibilities by Corporation Secretary Roger Sherratt.

"If I was going to be Mayor of Hamilton, Roger Sherratt will not be running the Corporation of Hamilton. That's the Mayor's job."

Mr. Spanswick said he was certain that whoever else put themselves up for mayor would have a look at his proposals which included a congestion charge for traffic coming into Hamilton.

"My friend in London, Ken Livingstone, had the same idea I had - to address the overcrowding of cars by charging an extra toll... We're talking about between $3 and $6. The city is not the place for people to come in for joy rides. This (proposal) is also about noise pollution."

He also wanted to allow senior citizens three hours of free parking in the city limits and impose harsh fines for littering, handbag snatching and washing cars on Front Street.

He said he did not know whether he would consider running for mayor again.

"My plans are to live abroad nine months of the year" to pursue his business, he said. He said Bermuda's economy was heading south and he would be better off living off the Island.

"I give Bermuda five years and it will go way down. If I am going to improve myself, I can't do it here... It will be too costly to live here."