( CNN ) -- Buddy Cianci has been convicted twice , and twice he 's been forced out as mayor of Providence , Rhode Island . But for him , this was a first . The 73-year-old Cianci lost a Providence mayor 's race for the first time in seven runs on Tuesday , falling to political neophyte Jorge Elorza . `` It just did n't happen , '' Cianci said in his concession speech . `` But that does n't mean that we do n't have the heart and the spirit and the love for this city to say that we would n't do it again if we needed to . '' Unofficial results , posted on Rhode Island 's elections board website , showed Elorza winning 53 % of the vote , with Cianci getting about 44 % support . Had their roles been reversed , Cianci 's swearing-in ceremony in January would have marked the fifth consecutive decade in which he has served as the city 's mayor . Not all those terms , however , were continuous -- though they very well might have been had he not been forced to resign twice in disgrace . Cianci , a back-slapping machine politician reminiscent of a bygone era , served as the city 's mayor from 1975 to 1984 and then again from 1991 to 2002 , epochs recalled locally as Buddy I and Buddy II . Buddy I came crashing down after Cianci was convicted of using a fire log and a lit cigarette to assault a man he accused of having an affair with his wife . Buddy II ended after Cianci was convicted on federal corruption charges . At the end of Cianci 's 2002 trial , the judge rebuked him before sentencing him to federal prison for five years . `` In this mayor 's two administrations , there has been more corruption in the city of Providence than in the history of this state , '' said Judge Ernest Torres . But Cianci did n't shy away from his past on the campaign trail this year . He made both his records , mayoral and criminal , a centerpiece of his message in a race against a much younger and far less experienced opponent -- a race Cianci said was his `` final rodeo . '' `` You 're not going to get a Pulitzer Prize or an Emmy by saying 'Buddy Cianci is a convicted felon , ' '' Cianci told CNN at his Providence headquarters recently . `` Everybody knows that . '' But Elorza , his Democratic opponent , was n't taking any chances . `` We have a storied history of corruption here in our city , '' he said at an October press conference . `` And those incidents of corruption are very well-documented in Mr. Cianci 's administration . '' In his concession speech , Cianci said that he and his campaign `` certainly were the recipients of some saturation bombing . And you know what , we are still alive . '' He urged his supporters to offer help to Elorza , saying `` we need to bind together as a city . '' As to his own future , Cianci remains a staple on local talk radio . And it 's hard to totally count out someone who ran for -- and nearly won -- a job that he twice lost due to convictions . `` It 's kind of a bittersweet night tonight because this will be my last campaign , '' he said . Following cries of `` No ! '' from his supporters , Cianci promptly added , `` For this year . ''
1975 : Buddy ' loses Providence mayoral election ; says ` ` it just did n't happen '' NEW : The 73-year - old says , ` ` This will be my last campaign , '' then adds ` ` for this year '' Cianci was mayor from 1975 to 1983 and again from 1991 to 2002 . He resigned the post twice over corruption charges .