For the first time in 47 years, the city of Cumming will have a new mayor.

Troy Brumbalow, a native Forsyth County resident and relative newcomer to politics, ousted Mayor H. Ford Gravitt Tuesday night

As of 8:15 p.m., Brumbalow had 563 votes, compared with 388 for Gravitt.

In an interview prior to election results, Gravitt, 75, who was first elected mayor in 1970 and took office in 1971, said he wanted to “thank those residents of Cumming who have … believed in me as well as the policies we’ve set forth. I’ve met a lot of great people on this campaign.”

Prior to Tuesday night, Brumbalow, 46, told FCN the city’s identity has suffered of late, and he aims to make the municipality more of a destination city.

“We’ve become somewhere you just pass through, unless you’re going to a bunch of big government buildings on the square,” Brumbalow said. “We want to make Cumming somewhere you want to go, not just a place to pass through.”

Brumbalow said this might include the development of a city center “to give people somewhere to shop, dine and socialize … and to bring the small town community feel back to Cumming.”

Had Gravitt been re-elected, he said he sought to continue work on the many projects underway within the city. Specifically, he mentioned undertakings with the street department that involved rehabilitating city intersections, repairing roadways and widening some streets; working with the board of education on new schools; and continuing the partnership with University of North Georgia that expanded the college campus in Cumming.

Brumbalow said he decided to run for mayor out of an overwhelming sense of city pride.

“I just love my hometown, and I wanted to see it move forward in the right direction,” Brumablow said.

Brumbalow owns several local businesses and is a 1990 graduate of South Forsyth High School as its first class president and valedictorian. He attended Gainesville State College and founded a construction company in 1993.

He lives in Cumming with wife, Jodie Bridges Brumbalow, and two children.