The Mayor of Hamilton last night admitted he made a mistake when he chose not to veto a proposal to evict the Bermuda Society of Arts.

But he added that no Mayor of Hamilton had ever used their veto power and he had opted to vote with the rest of the Corporation's members.

Mayor Sutherland Madeiros made the statement yesterday after The Royal Gazette revealed he voted in favour of evicting BSoA from City Hall and even suggested some of its space should be given to Bermuda National Gallery — despite saying publicly that he would do all he could to reverse the decision.

Minutes from a December 11 meeting of the Corporation of Hamilton leaked to The Royal Gazette showed that it was unanimously agreed to terminate the society's lease with six months notice.

The leak came just a week after The Royal Gazette launched its A Right to Know: Giving People Power campaign, aimed at getting the meetings of publicly funded bodies like the Corporation opened up to the public.

Yesterday the Mayor said: "The Members of the Corporation and I held extensive discussions on office space requirements for City Hall.

"At the meeting referred to in yesterday's Royal Gazette, a proposal was made and seconded that the Corporation of Hamilton terminate the lease held by the BSoA and it was recorded that every member present voted in favour.

"I had the choice of vetoing the proposal, something no other Mayor has ever done before, or acquiescing to the proposal.

"I chose the latter option, which in retrospect was a mistake.

"In spite of that, it is a fact that before, during and after that meeting I have supported consistently the continued presence of the Bermuda National Gallery, The Bermuda Society of Arts and the City Hall Theatre for Performing Arts at City Hall."

He added that after the decision had been made to terminate BSoA lease he recommended that the Bermuda National Gallery be given additional space to meet their "urgent short term needs".

"My exact words at a previous meeting were that: 'I strongly supported the Bermuda National Gallery' noting that it housed national art treasures and was an attractive component of City Hall, as was the BSoA," he said. "The fact that they do not pay rent is irrelevant."

The decision to evict BSoA, which has been at City Hall since 1960, sparked an outcry in the community and the lease has since been extended to the end of this year.

But yesterday Mr. Madeiros said that as the city grows, tough decisions will need to be made.