The council took its first vote for mayor in five weeks at about 8:30 p.m., with Reeves and Marjorie C. Decker switching their votes to Reeves, leaving then-front-runner Kathleen L. Born with three votes. Michael A. Sullivan, Galluccio and Reeves had two votes. Born kept smiling, even as Decker switched allegiances from her to Reeves.

The council then agreed to "recess" the voting for mayor until later in the meeting.

"For the viewers at home, this is so we can maintain our high viewership through the duration of the meeting," Reeves quipped to the television cameras.

At 11 p.m., after two and a half hours of slow council business and behind-the-scenes wheeling-and-dealing, the council took its second mayoral vote of the evening and fourth overall since its inauguration Jan. 3.

Surprisingly, Jim Braude then switched his vote from Born to Reeves, catapulting Reeves into the lead with three votes--still two short of the needed majority.

Born, who had come into the evening in the lead with four votes, could only manage a weak smile as Braude changed sides.

At the time, Galluccio still only had two votes, his and that of steadfast supporter Timothy P. Toomey, Jr.