HAMILTON, Bermuda, CMC – Political newcomer Robert King was declared as the new legislator for the constituency of Smith’s North following Wednesday’s by-election.
In what was described as a tight three-way race, the One Bermuda Alliance candidate garnered 209 votes.
Independent candidate and former Premier Sir John Swan, who took 184 votes, pushed the ruling Progressive Labour Party’s Lindsay Simmons into third place as she secured 181 votes.
“It’s an incredible moment. I’ve had an incredible team behind me supporting me, but more importantly, I have work to do now for Constituency 10,” declared King.
“The result is as I hoped it would be, maybe a little closer than I expected, but the result was what I expected it would be,” he told the Royal Gazette.
In total, 574 votes were cast ― significantly fewer than in the 2020 General Election when Michael Dunkley’s resignation this year sparked the by-election.
“So it’s a win for the constituency, party, and Bermuda benefits. The other thing that we have got to take away from this is, what do we need to do to continue building trust within the electorate, [so] that they will consider us the better choice, as they did tonight?
“Yes, it was a close three-person race, but when was the last time we had that? I can’t remember in a by-election,” King noted.
Regarding Simmon’s defeat, Premier David Burt said, “Lindsay is going to continue working inside this constituency, and the team is going to continue working on delivering.”
“When you go on the doorstep and listen to people talking about the fact that they had difficulty affording going to college, they’re grateful that the Progressive Labour Party has provided an opportunity for that. We’re going to keep on doing the work.
“We’ve come through a difficult period, but this particular candidate is someone who will continue to work, and we look forward to winning the seat at the next General Election,” Burt declared.
and then 