alvin_brown.jpgJACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) – A day after the polls closed, and after all the votes were finally counted, 48-year-old Alvin Brown officially became Jacksonville's next mayor.

 

Brown, a Democrat, becomes the city's first African-American mayor. His Republican opponent, Mike Hogan, conceded shortly after 7 p.m. Wednesday, following a day-long vote count that gave Brown an eight-tenths-of-a-percent margin of victory.

Officials say the gap is wide enough to prevent an automatic recount.

Tuesday night, Brown held a 603-vote lead over Hogan. Officials say several hundred absentee ballots filed by voters on Election Day helped give Brown the edge.

Brown takes office July 1. He replaces outgoing, two-term Mayor John Peyton.

Photo above:  Alvin Brown