They say the third time is the charm.

Mike Grayson has been handed political defeat twice by Cecil Williamson – once by 360 votes in the August 2004 Demopolis general election and again by 215 votes in the September runoff.

Last night, Grayson avenged those defeats by posting a more than 600-vote margin of victory over Williamson, signaling the beginning of his long-awaited turn in the mayor’s chair.

“Really, I’m just speechless,” Grayson said after hearing the numbers. “I felt good about our chances going in, but I am really humbled at this. I can’t express myself. So many people did so many things for this election. It was a collective effort.”

Grayson won all but two precinct boxes. Williamson carried Districts 1 and 2 while Grayson took 3, 4 and 5. Gayson out-pointed Williamson 1,444 to 826 in box voting. Williamson carried three of the five absentee boxes taking districts 1, 2 and 3. However, Grayson still carried the most votes, 71 to 58.

“I’m not really surprised by it,” Williamson said last night. “I ran a clean, honest, straightforward campaign.”

The turning point of the races turned out to be District 4, which split in favor of Williamson in the 2004 election, but went to Grayson, 450-108, Tuesday.

Grayson will assume office Nov. 3.