Grover Robinson will be the next mayor of Pensacola.

Robinson beat Pensacola City Councilman Brian Spencer by 3,017 votes in the race to replace Mayor Ashton Hayward as the second strong mayor in the city's history.

The final vote count was 14,548 votes, or 55.7 percent, for Robinson and 11,531 votes, or 44.2 percent, for Spencer.

At his home in Cordova Park on Tuesday night, Robinson thanked supporters and told them that it was the teamwork of the campaign that lead to the victory.

"More than anything else, I'm just excited about where we go from here," Robinson told the News Journal. "I think there are big things we've got planned, and as I told everyone here, the hard work really starts tomorrow. This was the easy work."

Robinson and Spencer have campaigned head-to-head over the last two months. Both candidates finished in the top two spots in the six-way primary in August.

Robinson came in first in the primary and picked up enough supporters from the other four candidates to hold to his top position Tuesday.

Spencer called Robinson Tuesday night after the results came in and congratulated him on the win.

"I assured him that I would remain engaged and active as someone that is committed to making Pensacola better for all," Spencer told the News Journal.

Robinson told Spencer he hopes he will stay involved in Pensacola and contribute ideas to the city.

Spencer told supporters gathered at Vinyl Music Hall for a election watch party that their commitment to Pensacola should not change.

"As I looked at the volunteers, I was left with confidence that just because I was defeated that would in no way diminish their level of commitment to Pensacola," Spencer said. "Their support as volunteers was not about Brian, it was about Pensacola."

The race will go down in Pensacola history as the most expensive race for the city's top position with $436,806 spent between Robinson and Spencer.

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Since declaring his candidacy in October, Robinson has raised more than $171,000 and spent more than $159,000.

Spencer entered the race much later, filing on the last day possible in June, but he quickly caught up to and surpassed Robinson's monetary advantage.

Spencer raised more than $312,800 and spent more than $277,500 over the course of the campaign.

"To really get your message out and do it effectively, it cost that much," Robinson said. "That's just the hardships of it. I wish it didn't."

Robinson said that they raised money to stay competitive and keep up with Spencer, but in the end he thinks the voters listened to his message.

"I felt like we had the better message," Robinson said. "I thought we had the better tactics. I think those two things sort of proved out over the campaign."

Robinson said the transition work will begin immediately.

He hopes to meet with Hayward as soon as tomorrow to discuss how the transition will work, but after nearly 13 months of campaigning he may sleep in a little Wednesday.

The two candidates both campaigned on their experience in government but emphasized different priorities for the city.

Robinson entered local politics in 2006 when he ran for his seat on the Escambia County Commission, but he comes from a long line of Pensacola politicians and public servants.

His father Grover Robinson III was a three-term state legislator from Escambia County, and his grandfather Grover Robinson Jr. was a long-time judge.

"It was not enough to live somewhere," Robinson said in an interview in October. "It was also your civic duty to participate and help make the community better. That doesn't mean you had to go into elected office, but there was certainly an expectation that you served on community boards. That you did things to make the community better."

One of Robinson's biggest legacy's during his time on the County Commission was from after the 2010 oil spill when he lobbied for the creation of the Restore Act, which brought millions of dollars back to Escambia County.

Robinson said that experience gave him the knowledge and relationships that will help him as mayor bring in state and federal dollars for city projects.

During the campaign, Robinson said his top priority would be to open up the mayor's office to the citizens of Pensacola.

He promised regular town halls in City Council districts and weekly press conferences to engage with the public and develop citizen-led plans to guide the forward movement of the city.

"So far, the current administration has not engaged," Robinson said. "It's not held town hall meetings. It's not developed plans to figure out what the institution is going to be. Neighborhoods are left wondering what's going to happen to them and they don't know where they fit in things."

Pensacola voters agreed, and Robinson will begin putting his ideas into practice when he is sworn in as mayor on Nov. 27.

Jim Little can be reached at jwlittle@pnj.com and 850-208-9827.