Challenger Tommy Hunter ousted Gwinnett County Commissioner Mike Beaudreau in the race for District 3.
Hunter won by 56 votes in unofficial returns in the Republican runoff for the County Commission. He faces no Democratic opponent in the November general election.
Hunter said his win is a signal that voters want to be heard.
"They want to be treated like they mean something, like their opinion is important," he said late Tuesday.
Given the narrow margin of Hunter's victory, Beaudreau could call for a recount within two days of the election's certification Monday, said Joe Sorenson, Gwinnett County's communications director. Beaudreau could not be reached for comment late Tuesday.
Beaudreau was seeking his third term in a sometimes nasty campaign that was overshadowed at times by a federal corruption investigation. In May, Commissioner Shirley Lasseter resigned and pleaded guilty to a bribery charge.
Lasseter admitted accepting $36,500 from an undercover FBI agent in exchange for her vote on a real estate deal. She is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 5. She and two co-defendants are cooperating in the ongoing investigation.
Commissioner Kevin Kenerly resigned in 2010 and also faces a bribery charge. A special grand jury alleged that he accepted or agreed to accept $1 million to arrange for the county to buy land. Chairman Charles Bannister also resigned in 2010 to avoid a perjury charge stemming from the same grand jury investigation.
Beaudreau has not been implicated in any wrongdoing, and during the campaign he touted his support for new ethics and land-buying rules approved in the wake of the 2010 grand jury investigation.
But he drew three Republican opponents this year, and some said he could have done more to combat what they call a "culture of corruption."
Political activist Joe Newton also blasted Beaudreau in a June ethics complaint filed with the county. He claimed the commissioner had charged taxpayers for mileage for events such as Christmas parties that Newton claimed were personal or political in nature. Beaudreau said they were for legitimate public business.
The complaint is on hold until November because of language in Gwinnett's ethics rules approved last year that prevents complaints from being filed against candidates during a campaign.
Hunter, an engineering consultant and former county construction manager who lives in Buford, said his top priorities include securing an alternative water source for Gwinnett and restoring public trust in county government.
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