New Mayor Charles Gosling is hopeful that Corporation of Hamilton will be able to work with Government to ensure the municipality survives.

Last month, it was announced that the Corporation of Hamilton and the municipality in St. George's will be abolished, with their services transferred to Government.

But Mr. Gosling, who won Thursday night's elections, said his team was already starting business as usual and meeting Corporation staff and stakeholders despite the Government's intentions.

Minister without Portfolio Walter Roban, who has responsibilities for the Municipalities, issued a statement yesterday: "I offer my congratulations to the successful candidates in Thursday's election for the Corporation of Hamilton. I look forward to working with the new Mayor and his team as we discuss the future of the Corporation."

Minister Roban did not respond to a request for comment when asked if his statement indicated a possible change in the Government's stance.

Yesterday Mr. Gosling said he has set up a meeting with the Premier, which will take place in the next 10 days. When asked if he had spoken to Minister Roban, Mr. Gosling said the Minister was allowing the team a few days to settle in before meeting with them.

Mr. Gosling had not seen Minister Roban's comments yesterday but said: "If he is extending that hand of friendship we are willing to take it.

"We are looking for progress, we are not looking for stale, old, Bermuda bureaucracy.

"We hope that through working with the Minister we will be able to change their decision,"

He added that his team believed working with the Government was the best way forward, and said he believed that not working with the Government had led to the current situation the Corporation finds itself in.

When asked how he felt about the possibility of being Hamilton's last Mayor, he said: "That is not why I ran."

Mr. Gosling's team includes Councillor nominees Dennis Tucker, J. Nicholas Swan, Pamela Quarterly and Marshall Minors.

Thursday's team win is understood to be the first time individual nominees have grouped together to encourage voters to select all of them for City Hall positions.