A trucking company owner, “son of the soil” and deputy chairman of the Treatment of Offenders Board was announced yesterday as a Progressive Labour Party candidate for the House of Assembly.

Paul Wilmot, who also serves on the Warwick Parish Council, will aim to hold Warwick North Central for the PLP, after the retirement of Lieutenant-Colonel David Burch, who is the Minister of Public Works.

Mr Wilmot told the residents of Constituency 27: “I sit before you today not only as your candidate, but as a farmer’s son rooted in the values of hard work, perseverance and family.”

The 54-year-old pledged, if elected, to provide a foundation for the community and to help connect neighbourhoods, businesses, people and charities.

He was introduced by David Burt, the Premier, in the company of party chairwoman Dawn Simmons.

Mr Burt opened by thanking Colonel Burch.

“He has devoted decades of tireless service to his constituents and to the people of Bermuda, and also to the Bermuda Progressive Labour Party,” said the Premier.

“He exemplifies what it means to serve with integrity, passion and unrelenting commitment to improving the lives of Bermudians.”

Mr Wilmot also thanked Colonel Burch for his “unwavering dedication” for the past seven years.

The new candidate said his role on the Treatment of Offenders Board, published in a 2023 notice in the Official Gazette, had often placed him before young men “standing between regret and redemption” and in need of structure in their lives.

He added that he hoped to use his experience with the board to “influence criminal justice policy” if elected.

Mr Wilmot said there were “two truths” instilled in him from the farming life of his parents, John and Brenda.

He said they were that “you only get out what you put in” and that “no matter how much you prepare and nourish, the creator, the most high, is ultimately in charge”.

Asked about the needs of the community, he said: “On the doorstep, I hear about crime and education.”

Colonel Burch told constituents it had been “a distinct honour to have had the opportunity to be your representative”.

He added that, 18 months ago, when he decided to retire, he knew he had to help a new representative to become elected.

Colonel Burch said: “I told the chairman I was retiring and asked if he had anyone in mind. He said it was Paul. I immediately thought he would be a perfect candidate.

“He is from Cedar Hill and would not have to be introduced to the people of Constituency 27.”

Colonel Burch said they had both served in the Royal Bermuda Regiment.

“This is how retirement should work,” he added. “The outgoing helps the incoming.”

Mr Wilmot thanked Colonel Burch for his mentorship and said he was “a tough act to follow”.

The candidate has featured several times in The Royal Gazette, including last September when his company, Wilmot’s Trucking, joined forces with real estate agency KW Bermuda and Keep Bermuda Beautiful to tackle an illegal dump site in Warwick.

Mr Wilmot, who noted then that he had lived in the area his whole life, said at the time: “The project seemed like a good fit for all and several young men from the neighbourhood lent a hand with cleaning up.”

Colonel Burch, the PLP MP for Warwick North Central, said last December that he would retire from politics at the next General Election.

He told Bermuda Broadcasting Company then: “I was in the Class of 1998, so I have been doing this for 25 years.

“I think most people know I love Jamaica and spend a fair amount of time there. Last year on Boxing Day, I was having breakfast and thinking about life and things and thought that next year I would have been doing this for 25 years.

“It’s time to do something else and give someone else a turn.

“I came back and I advised the Premier in January that I would be retiring and that I would stay until the next election is called.”

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