Mr Anthony A. Williams, the Harvard-trained, bow-tied technocrat whose no-nonsense management style and assurances of solid fiscal leadership impressed voters soundly defeated the Republican challenger, Ms Carol Schwartz, to become the fourth elected mayor of the District of Columbia.
The election brought to a close the controversial and often contentious regime of Mayor Marion Barry, whose fourth term in office saw Congress wrest control of the financially beleaguered city government from its elected leaders.
Mr Williams, the district's former chief financial officer, who was credited with a central role in the city's financial resurrection, held a two to one lead in ballots collected from throughout the city at noon on Tuesday. That early count gave him a lead of 41,642 to 19,858 with a turnout of only 18 per cent of Washington's registered voters.
The Williams victory represents a profound shift. He is an often awkward man with three Ivy League diplomas taking an office which has been occupied by a charismatic and controversial former civil rights leader for 16 of the past 20 years.
Ms Eleanor Holmes Norton (Democrat) coasted to re-election to a fourth term as DC representative in Congress. In the closely-watched race for two open seats on the DC Council, early returns showed Democrat Mr Phil Mendelson with a comfortable lead and Republican incumbent Mr David A. Catania ahead of his nearest challenger, Ms Hilda Mason, the Statehood Party candidate who has served on the council since 1977.
If Mr Mendelson and Mr Catania win, there will be a white majority on the council for the first time since the inception of home rule more than three decades ago.
The mayoral race pitted Mr Williams, a low-key political newcomer who survived criticism that he was a carpetbagger, against the feisty Ms Schwartz, a veteran council member making her third bid for the city's top elected office.
The stakes in the mayoral race were raised considerably by indications that the DC financial control board intends to delegate powers to the new mayor which were stripped from Mr Barry by Congress last year.
Although there has been no formal announcement of that intention, sources told the Washington Post that the mayor-elect would be empowered to run virtually the entire district government and would meet control board members tomorrow to chart a transition plan.
Mr Williams campaigned on a platform of returning home rule to Washington within two years, which appealed to many voters, and insisting that he has the financial background to manage the city's business affairs and deliver quality city services to all residents of the city.