(CNN) Montgomery County Probate Judge Steven Reed won the mayoral run-off election, unofficial results show, and will become the first black mayor of Montgomery, Alabama, since the city was founded in 1819.

Local media called the election for Reed, who overwhelmingly defeated television station owner David Woods by more than 16,000 votes.

"Let the record show tonight, above all ... what we can do when we come together in this city and we build around positivity, around opportunity, and all the things that tie us together versus those things that keep us apart," Reed told supporters at a rally turned victory party.

Reed's message was one of unity.

"Tonight isn't the end, tonight is the beginning," he said. "Tonight sent a signal, not just to all of us here in Montgomery, all of us in Alabama, it sent a signal throughout this country about what kind of community we are right now, not what we were."