His lead is only 620 votes, out of more than 84,000 cast. But former state Sen. Kasim Reed is already making plans to take over as mayor of Atlanta, announcing that his first priority will be finding a new police chief.

At the same time, Mary Norwood, a city councilwoman who if elected would become the first white mayor of Atlanta since the early 1970s, refuses to concede. A study by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, however, suggests that even if Norwood received all the provisional ballots — which are not currently part of the count — it wouldn't be enough to put her over the top.

As expected, Reed easily carried the black precincts in Tuesday's runoff while Norwood's strength was in the predominantly white areas in north Atlanta. The campaign, report the Journal-Constitution's Stirgus & Morris, "became acrimonious in the final days":

Norwood labeled Reed a "political insider" whose campaign was bankrolled by longtime "cronies" and said he doesn't pay his property taxes on time. Reed said Norwood put the city in peril by voting against a property tax increase in 2008 that resulted in police officers being furloughed for six months.

Final results are expected Thursday.

The winner will be sworn in in January, succeeding term-limited Shirley Franklin.

Previous coverage of Atlanta mayoral race here.

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