St George’s Mayor Kenneth Bascome hopes that his hard work in the town will help him retain the position in today’s municipal elections.“I believe that the town has progressed,” he said. “It’s my hope that the residents of the town of St George’s believe that I’m worthy of their continued support.”Both the Corporation of St George’s and the City of Hamilton will host municipal elections today.While former Common Councillor Graeme Outerbridge and ‘Team Bermuda’ challenge Mayor Charles Gosling and the incumbent administration in Hamilton, Mr Bascome will be running against St George’s businessman and Common Councillor Alfonso Harris.Speaking on the eve of the election, Mr Bascome said that he wants to continue pushing for improved security in the town, including a fully-operational police station and fire station.“We need a station on this side of the bridge,” Mr Bascome said.“They are concerned that it wouldn’t make sense to have a fully functioning station so close to Southside, but I continue to make the point that what happens if the bridge gets stuck?“Now the fire brigade has been taken out of St George’s. We need to have a functioning fire brigade on this side of the bridge as well.“If bridge gets stuck, it could be a major disaster, particularly if there was some sort of fire on Water Street with all the buildings so close together.”While he said the Corporations has worked diligently to remedy the lack of cruise ships visiting the port, often blamed for the closing of several east end businesses, Mr Bascome said he is optimistic about this year’s tourist season.Along with an increased ferry schedule to bring tourists to the east end, the mayor noted the increase in yachts visiting the port.“We wrote to [National Security] Minister Wayne Perinchief about the Government allowing yachts to stay on the Island for 90 days, and we are pleased that they saw fit to do so,” Mr Bascome said.“It’s a real bonus for St George’s, and Bermuda as a whole.”He acknowledged that the progress on developing new hotels in the east end has been slow due to the economy, but said he is certain that the town will soon host a new marina.“There are actually three groups right now that are having discussions about a marina. The last meeting was heard two weeks ago,” Mr Bascome said.He also said that discussions are underway to improve taxi coverage in the town at night to help support restaurants and clubs in the town.Mr Bascome said that the Corporation and the Ministry of Tourism have been working together to hold events in the town for visitors, but he argued that more emphasis should be placed on the history linking St George’s and Bermuda to the US East Coast in marketing the Island.Pointing at a map showing the original 13 colonies, he said: “This is basically the same area that we market Bermuda to in North America. If we were to put more emphasis on the significance of Bermuda in the survival of the colonies, I believe that it could be an effective marketing tool.”The mayor also noted that this election will be the first in St George’s following the Municipalities Reform Act, which allows only residents to vote in municipal elections.While Mr Bascome said he did not oppose expanding voting rights to more residents, he disagreed with stripping voting rights from those who own businesses in the town.“I still believe that the businesses in the municipalities should have a vote,” he said. “I don’t believe that people should have five or six votes, but I believe they should have one.“According to our mandate, the corporation’s job is to assist where possible the businesses and keep the infrastructure up and running. There are people that believe the corporation should be doing more that it is doing, but I try to make them understand that it’s not in the Corporation of St George’s mandate.”Regarding St George’s residents, he said he hopes to encourage residents to volunteer to work on subcommittees so that they can have a direct influence on the Corporation’s decisions.Mr Bascome also took time to thank the Corporation staff for their hard work keeping St George’s running and those who he has worked alongside, particularly Deputy Mayor Garth Rothwell.