A graduate student is challenging a four-year incumbent Tuesday in College Park’s first contested mayoral race in more than two decades.

Robert McCeney, a Ph.D. candidate in the Graduate School of Education and Human Development, has tried to nab a seat on the city’s council multiple times, the Washington Post reported. He is pitted against Andrew Fellows, who has boasted a spot in city government since 2001.

A Montgomery County middle school science teacher, McCeney, 48, has experience in city code enforcement and has volunteered with the Red Cross. He has campaigned on the promise to work to improve the relationship between University of Maryland students and permanent College Park residents.

McCeney earned a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Maryland and a master’s in the same field from Bowie State University.

He first ran for College Park’s city council in 2009, bringing in 14 percent of votes. He won 17 percent of the vote two years later.