Photo courtesy Steve Demetropoulos

PASCAGOULA, Miss. (AP) — A family physician has been elected mayor of a city on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Dr. Steve Demetropoulos defeated two candidates Tuesday in a nonpartisan special election in Pascagoula, news outlets reported.

He will be sworn in Feb. 18 and to finish a four-year term that ends June 30, 2021.

Former Mayor Dane Maxwell stepped down after being elected to the Mississippi Public Service Commission, a three-member group that regulates utilities.