Hamilton will have a new mayor next month after two entrepreneurs have thrown their hats into the ring for the job.

Michael Branco, the founder of investment company Celeste Ventures, and Elmore Warren, the chief executive of Fresh Creations, both registered their candidacies for mayor at St Paul AME Church Centennial Hall today.

Incumbent Hamilton mayor Charles Gosling will not be seeking re-election.

Mr Branco, elected common councillor for the city during an extraordinary municipal election last year, founded local ticketing platform Ptix and was chief executive of award-winning software firm Fireminds. He is seeking mayorship for the first time.

He explained: “Vagrancy is the most common concern I get from residents as councillor — if elected mayor, my team and I will use all the legislative power we have and work with government to make the city a better place.”

Mr Warren stood as an independent candidate for Constituency 21 during the 2017 General Election, but has never run for Mayor of Hamilton, where he was born and raised, before now.

He helped develop Bermuda’s Economic Empowerment Zone and has served on the Bermuda Tourism Authority and the Police Complaints Authority boards.

He told Hamilton voters: “I’m running for you and I’m asking you to stand with me — I have the support of the people so far.

“Voters need to know that their vote matters and their voices will be heard.”

Mr Gosling, who served as mayor from 2008 to 2012 and since 2015, feels it is time to let the younger generation take over.

He said: “I have a lot of things planned for retirement and I want to do them before it’s too late.”

One of Mr Gosling’s proudest achievements as mayor was opening committee meetings to members of the public and reducing how often they met.

He explained: “We started with eight committees that met twice a month, but reduced it to four committees meeting once a month.

“This gave us more time to do the business of running the city.”

The mayorship is the only position that city residents and ratepayers will vote for on May 7, as all councillors in the municipality ran unopposed and are duly elected.

Four of the eight incumbent municipal councillors — George Scott, John Harvey, Nicholas Swan and Dennis Tucker — did not seek re-election.

Hamilton residential councillors are Jenefer Brimmer, Maxanne Caines, Shaun Brown and Mia Chambray, who lost to Mr Branco last year, while Philip Barnett, Lloyd Holder, Tony Thompson and Mark Pacheco comprise the ratepayer councillors.

Mr Branco and the eight councillors had created a Hamilton team website ahead of the election.

The site, hamilton.together.bm, said: “The campaign message is simple: protect what is working, improve what can be better, support the people who keep the city running and move Hamilton forward with steady hands and bright ideas.”

No incumbent seats were contested in St George's, so all candidates in the municipality have been duly elected: Quinell Francis, the mayor, with business councillors Amne Osseyran and Alfonso Harris, and residential councillors Nyon Dowling, Jari Ming, Allan Van Putten, Elizabeth Christopher, Nyon Dowling, Tianny Butterfield and Lynwood Trott.