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The back wall of council chambers at Jacksonville City Hall is covered by 43 framed portraits of past City Council presidents, but just two of the pictures are Black presidents.
That number will grow by at least one portrait with council s election of Sam Newby as the next president for a one-year term that will begin July 1.
Newby s rise to the top leadership post also illustrates that Black elected officials have a path to power within the Republican Party, even as the vast majority of Black voters are aligned with the Democratic Party.
Council member Terrance Freeman, also a Black Republican, won election as vice president-designate in a razor-thin contest over Randy DeFoor.