"I had never heard of him before," said one Dayton resident.

"I was shocked," said another.

Gary Leitzell was a long shot to win and now promises to change things at City Hall.

"I am going to kill old and outdated methods of governing that consolidates power at top of city hall while leaving taxpayer in the cold," Leitzell said.

According to the Montgomery County Board of Elections, Leitzell won by fewer than 900 votes.

A stunning victory that even surprised Montgomery County's Republican party chairman Greg Gantt.

"The first thing he said to me last night was 'You didn't think I could do this?' I said 'to be honest with you, I thought you could come close but didn't think you could push it over the edge'" said Gantt.

The GOP party endorsed Leitzell who ran as an Independent. Gantt predicts being an outsider in a historically Democratic town will be a challenge for the new mayor.

Local voters like Lisa Pleasant went to bed last night without even thinking twice about the mayor's race. She was confident Mayor Rhine McLin would win.

"I didn't pay attention last night, and I was really surprised when I heard them announce that Gary had won, expecting McLin to win again," she said.

Many people felt that bringing jobs to the city was a major issue, reported ONN's Lot Tan. Addressing those issues may help Lietzell be a little more memorial as he takes the mayor's office.

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