Cumming Mayor Defeated After 47 Years

CUMMING, GA — For the first time in nearly half a century, Cumming is going to have a new mayor.

Local business owner and Forsyth County native Troy Brumbalow defeated incumbent Mayor H. Ford Gravitt in Tuesday's voting. Gravitt, 75, was first elected mayor in 1970 and has served in the post ever since.

Brumbalow, 46, received 563 votes, compared to 388 for Gravitt, according to county election results.

Brumbalow campaigned on returning a "small town feel" to Cumming, advocating for revitalizing downtown and the possibility of creating a city-center type development.

He graduated from South Forsyth High School in 1990 as its first class president and valedictorian. He attended Gainesville State College and founded a construction company in 1993.

He started a softball bat company in 1996 and opened Planet Tan and Beyond in Cumming in 2008. Earlier this year, he co-founded American Cabinets.

Gravitt underwent cancer surgery in the spring and was rumored to be retiring from his long-held post. But saying he'd received a clean bill of health, he announced he would seek another term. Prior to becoming mayor, he served from 1967-1970 as a member of Cumming City Council.

Photo via TroyForMayor.com