GASTONIA -- A familiar face will return to Gastonia's top job.

Walker Reid beat incumbent Mayor John Bridgeman 59 to 41 percent in Tuesday's election.

Reid is a retired firefighter and spent 16 years on city council.

He says the city has become stagnant and he wants to change that.

“Addressing crime and poverty and diversity. We have a great diverse city here and I don't we have embraced the diversity that we have here, so I want to establish relationships,” said Reid.

While Gastonia has had black mayors in the past, they were elected. This is the first time voters have elected one