A former city councillor won a golden ticket last night when he was elected Mayor of Hamilton.

Michael Branco, founder of ticketing firm Ptix and investment company Celeste Ventures, received 140 votes compared with 43 for entrepreneur and activist Elmore Warren.

However, Mr Warren received slightly more support from Hamilton residents, earning 25 votes compared with 22 for Dr Branco.

Voting closed at 8pm and the results were announced outside St Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church Centennial Hall shortly before 9pm, Dr Branco was sworn in minutes later.

Dr Branco, former One Bermuda Alliance deputy chairman, ran for mayor for the first time and completed his doctorate in business from Rutgers University on Tuesday.

He first ran for Hamilton councillor in 2019, but lost by five votes to lawyer Larry Scott.

He was elected common councillor during an extraordinary municipal election called after Mr Scott’s death last year.

He said: “Mr Warren did a great job of representing North Hamilton and it shows with residents’ percentages, the majority who come from North Hamilton.”

Dr Branco’s plans for the city, which he called “the heart of Bermuda”, include arranging more al fresco events along the Waterfront and working with the Government to expand the capabilities of parking enforcement officers.

Mr Warren, chief executive of Fresh Creations, also sought mayorship for the first time and unsuccessfully ran as an independent candidate in Constituency 21, which includes some of Hamilton, during the 2017 General Election.

He also helped develop Bermuda’s Economic Empowerment Zone and served on the Bermuda Tourism and Police Complaints Boards.

He said after Dr Branco’s victory: “I only beat him by three votes in my own neighbourhood, but I beat him in my neighbourhood and he beat me in his.

“I didn’t lose anything, but he didn’t either, he won, good on him, now the work is there.”

Mr Warren thanked everyone who helped with his campaign and said: “People heard what it’s like to hear a different voice and a voice of good reason, old habits die hard, that what today is about.”

Mr Warren said this week that Front Street has become a “dearth of any visible culture” and vowed to invest in the people of Hamilton.

Mayor was the only municipal position voted for in this election, as every councillor in the city, as well as the mayor and councillors in St George, ran unopposed and were duly elected.

Dr Branco succeeds outgoing mayor Charles Gosling, who served in the role from 2008 to 2012 and then since 2015.

Mr Gosling said after Dr Branco’s victory: “You’re only as good as your successor, so I have a feeling I’m going to be a pretty good mayor.

“There’s a lot of ambition there, he’s a great person to take over, he’s tech savvy and involved in all these technologies which are coming in as I’m going out.”

Dr Branco’s win came after the Municipalities Reform Act 2026, which aimed to eliminate municipal elections, passed in the House of Assembly, but was rejected by the senate.

The Parliamentary Registry and Corporation of Hamilton acknowledged Dr Branco’s win and thanked all election officials, candidates, voters and agents for participating in the electoral process.