JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Eight years ago, Nat Glover turned a deaf ear to critics who said an African-American man could never become sheriff. Now glover hopes to become the city's first African-American mayor. Voters go to the polls Tuesday. and as CNN's Susan Candiotti reports, the mayoral campaign has revealed much about Jacksonville's racial past:
As supporters make a last-minute pitch for votes, Jacksonville's first black sheriff -- Democrat Nathaniel Glover -- asks to be the city's first black mayor.
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"It's nice to make history," Glover said. "But you must have a mission and want to do good and serve the people."
His opponent: first time campaigner, Republican John Peyton.
Their backgrounds are starkly different. Peyton -- well-heeled businessman and heir to a chain of gas stations and convenience stores who also held a post in the city's Transportation Authority.
Glover grew up in a poor Jacksonville neighborhood, rose through the ranks to become sheriff and was re-elected with 80 percent of the vote.
After first taking office in 1995, he talked with CNN's Susan Candiotti about race:
"Color does not have to be an issue and the people of Jacksonville have proved that."
In this campaign, issues -- jobs, education, crime -- were in the focus until the closing weeks. First, someone spray-painted the n-word on Glover's campaign headquarters.
Then, in a searing radio attack ad, Glover took on Peyton for promising to fire a black fire chief and vowing to cut out set aside minority city contracts.
"If John Peyton is elected mayor, it will turn back the clock on community relations," Glover's radio ad claimed.
"What's happened over the past week is that both sides are pointing fingers at each other and I think a lot of the population here is backing away and saying we really don't need to be talking about those things," University of North Florida political science professor Matthew Corrigan said.
The Rev. Rudolph McKissick says Glover was obligated to address a festering concern in the African-American community about Peyton.
"I would describe the atmosphere in the city as tense," McKissick said. "I don't think to suggest that a person has not had a positive track record in the African American community is racial, and I don't think you can call that negative."
Peyton, meanwhile, has attacked Glover's record as sheriff.
"Several rogue officers he hired were convicted of murder, robbery and other crimes," is the message of a recent television ad from the Peyton campaign.
Both men say they're anxious to move on.
"I don't think the overtones reflect the sentiments of this community or the progress we've made," Peyton said over the weekend. "Race is not a subject of every conversation and every deal that's being made. And if we need to heal, then I'm the facilitator of that."
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