Gwinnett cities elect county’s first black, Latino mayors

Rey Martinez, then a Loganville city councilman, with then-vice presidential candidate Mike Pence, during a September 2016 rally in Cobb County. VIA CITY OF LOGANVILLE

Rey Martinez, then a Loganville city councilman, with then-vice presidential candidate Mike Pence, during a September 2016 rally in Cobb County. VIA CITY OF LOGANVILLE

Gwinnett County, one of the most diverse communities in Georgia and the entire Southeast, will soon have its first-ever non-white mayors.

The city of Norcross made longtime councilman Craig Newton Gwinnett’s first-ever black mayor during Tuesday’s election. Newton was not challenged.

Read more about Newton here.

And in Loganville — which is in both Gwinnett and Walton counties — former councilman Rey Martinez roughly doubled the unofficial vote total of opponent Donna B. Jones. It’s believed he will become Gwinnett’s first-ever Latino mayor.

Martinez, a U.S. Navy veteran and restaurateur, made a name for himself last fall by helping lead several Georgia rallies for then-candidates Donald Trump and Mike Pence.

“Black, white, Hispanic, Muslim — Donald Trump is going to pick all of you up and make you believe in this country again,” Martinez said at Pence rally in Cobb County last September.

Gwinnett is a majority-minority county, meaning it has more non-white residents than white ones. But it has never seen a non-white candidate elected to the county commission or school board.

MYAJC.COM: REAL JOURNALISM. REAL LOCAL IMPACT.

The AJC's Tyler Estep keeps you updated on the latest happenings in Gwinnett County government and politics. You'll find more on myAJC.com, including these stories:

Never miss a minute of what's happening in Gwinnett politics. Subscribe to myAJC.com.