The recent election resulted in a shift of power from the former longstanding, mayor of Quitman, Curtis L. Pickles, to his challenger, James C. Brown III, 42. Brown will take the oath of office and begin his new duties on Jan. 1, 2014.

Brown was born on Moody Air Force Base and he is retired from the military.

“I served four years in the Navy, sixteen years and twenty-eight days in the army, and a year and a half in the navy reserves,” Brown recalled. “It (the military) taught me discipline, and it taught me to never give up, there is always a way … They taught me that you only limit yourself.”

Brown was not the average mayoral candidate because he is also a full-time student at Valdosta State University.

“At the end of this semester, I am going to have 60 total semester hours, so about two years of college. I started at VSU in August of last year,” Brown said.

Serving a short two-year term as a city councilman, Brown made enough of an impact in Quitman to resign on Aug. 31 and run for mayor.

When asked about his motivation to run for mayor, Brown said, “The very same thing that motivated me to run for city council. I saw that the city was going down. When I graduated in 1988 from Brooks County High School, the situation in Quitman was much better than it is today. And I thought I could make a difference.”

Brown’s goals as mayor are to unite Quitman by getting to know residents, and to encourage the city council to do the same.

“I like to think of the community more like a family,” Brown said.

“I think it is time for new ideas, and I am glad I can get in there to try to take Quitman to a new level.”

Mary Irine Brown, James Brown’s mother, and friends did a lot of campaigning for Brown.

Campaigning for himself, Brown would drive around and tell voters, “I would like to go back to the basics, and make sure everything runs as it should, while repairing the foundation. I can’t do anything by myself, but if the people assist me, then we could build a better future.”