After more than two decades of leading the City of Girard, Mayor Jim Melfi is out. 

Current Girard Treasurer and School Board member Mark Zuppo has upset the incumbent. Zuppo received 54% of the vote to Melfi's 46%.

Zuppo unseating Jim Melfi, who's held the position for 24 years. Since there are no Republican or Independent challengers in November, Zuppo officially wins the seat.

"I think there's some things we're going to try to do that are different," Zuppo told 21 News at his election party on Tuesday evening. 

Zuppo wants to usher in a new era of leadership in the city. His initiatives include creating improvement projects in the downtown area, also creating a plan for Girard Lake, and bettering zoning in neighborhoods.

"We have to get with the Law Director and see what we can do legally," Zuppo said. "We want to do a lot of private and public cooperative efforts but we have to do it within the law."

Zuppo believes he came out on top after taking the time to listen to constituents, as he will begin serving the nearly 10,000 people that call Girard home.

"I think they felt that they haven't been heard," Zuppo said. "I wanted to be a vessel for their voice. That's what we pushed and we listened to them."

Zuppo's crowd celebrated into the late hours of Election Day as he comes out on top as the city's new Mayor.

"I'm hopeful to work with Mr. Melfi's team to create a peaceful and smooth transition period so we can come in and hit the ground running on January 1st," Zuppo said.