East Cleveland Mayor Gary Norton says the people have spoken and he is ready to move on.
Norton and Council President Thomas Wheeler were both ousted from office in a special recall election Tuesday.
Norton lost by just 20 votes, 548 to 528.
The margin makes it outside Ohio's half percent margin for an automatic recount.
Wheeler lost by 18 votes.
Brandon King, the council's vice president, will become temporary mayor in 21 days.
Norton will stay in office until then when the results become official.
Remaining council members will choose replacements for both Wheeler and Norton.
If they can't reach a consensus, Wheeler will choose the new officeholders.
Gary Norton, Brandon King and Thomas Wheeler will hold a press conference at 11 a.m. Thursday at East Cleveland City Hall regarding the elected officials' transition.
Norton told WKYC's Tom Beres that he was not planning to seek reelection next year. He did not disclose that before Tuesday's vote.
Devin Branch, who led the recall effort against Norton, said Norton's support for annexation to Cleveland was a big issue because Norton could not lead a city he was seeking to eliminate.
Another big question is what will happen to annexation efforts Norton championed for the struggling city?
Cleveland city leaders were recruiting experts to evaluate the impact of a possible merger.
