LAWRENCE, Mass. -- For the first time, a majority of Lawrence voters are Hispanic, and Dominican City Councilor Marcos Devers is trying to become the first Latino mayor ever elected in the state of Massachusetts.

NewsCenter 5's Janet Wu reported Wednesday that he's challenging incumbent Mayor Michael Sullivan.

"People are taking ownership, now, of their city. All I am saying is let's keep the same course here for the next four years," Sullivan said.

"This is a city managed by a remote control and his friends," Devers said.

Lawrence's population is now 60 percent Latino, with just over 50 percent of the registered voters Spanish speaking. Devers, a civil engineer, teacher and three-term city councilor, served briefly as interim mayor four years ago.

"This time, I'm going to be the first Latino elected mayor in the commonwealth of Massachusetts," Devers said.

"Where you come from, it doesn't really matter," Sullivan said. "I believe that."

Sullivan, the brother of former mayor Kevin Sullivan, is the rare Republican mayor in Massachusetts who was elected thanks to Democrats and immigrants.

"We have a quarter of a billion dollars worth of improvements and construction going on right now," Sullivan said. "Our unemployment rate has gone from 16 percent to 8.6 percent. Our crime is down 47 percent in the last four years."

"The unemployment rate may be a little bit down, however the quality of those jobs are not the ones that the people really want," Devers said. "The salaries are too low. The city of Lawrence has one out of five that live in a state of poverty."