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Bascome returned as Mayor of St George

Voters in the Town of St George tonight returned Kenneth Bascome as mayor. He is pictured with his mother Adda Foggo (left) and his wife, Rochelle.

Kenneth Bascome was re-elected as Mayor of St George tonight as hundreds of residents from the town went to the polls for the first time to elect Corporation members.Alfonso Harris, who owns Churchill's cigar and liquor store on York Street, was a Common Councillor who decided to take on sitting mayor Kenneth Bascome but lost.Mr Bascome won 299 votes, or 66 percent compared to Mr Harris who received 151 votes or 34 percent.Mr Bascome, a 63-year-old taxi driver, has been mayor of the Old Town since December 2009.He said of the result: "I'm elated and humbled and I just want to say thankyou to the community of St George's for affording me the opportunity to continue to carry the banner for this town."Reacting to news of his loss, Mr Harris said: "I'm disappointed. I was hoping to be triumphant but that's the way it goes."His name has been mooted as a possible One Bermuda Alliance candidate to run against Government's Dame Jennifer Smith in the next General Election.Asked about that tonight he said: "Possibly. I'm not sure what I'm going to do."Today was the first time an Ordinary Election has been held there since electoral reforms in 2010. Those reforms dismantled a system that the Progressive Labour Party said protected a privileged minority.At all other such elections since 1923, residential ratepayers, property owners and business owners were allowed to vote multiple times, depending on the number of properties they possessed; the Municipalities Reform Act creates one vote per registered resident.In addition to the mayoral election, Common Councillors Quinell Francis and Renee Anderson-Ming ousted Steven Hollis as Alderman. Garth Rothwell was returned to that post.Ms Anderson-Ming got 378 votes, Ms Francis 314 and Mr Rothwell 228. There was no vote for Common Councillors as only four people put themselves forward: existing Common Councillors George Sutherland and Eakin McLaughlin, and newcomers Cheryl Hayward-Chew and Phillip Anderson.Polling at the Town Hall closed at 8pm and the results were announced just before 11pm.Mr Bascome has lived in St George's all his life. He is married, has one son who lives overseas, and currently resides on Wellington Back Road.He used to run the Tobacco Bay Beach concession and has run various other businesses in the town over the years.Speaking ahead of today's election, Mr Bascome said he would continue to push for improved security in the town if he was re-elected.He also spoke of boosting taxi coverage at night to help support restaurants and clubs.He said he disagreed with the fact that the recent electoral reforms stripped business owners of the right to vote in municipal elections.He spoke of plans to encourage residents to volunteer to work on subcommittees so that they can have a direct influence on the corporation's decisions.And he said he would like to see St Geroeg's status as a Word Heritage Site promoted to potential visitors who live on the Eastern sea board.