Via :-First black American woman candidate elected to Athens city council

Hours after becoming one of the first non-Greeks to win public office, U.S.-born Yvette Jarvis said she'll work to help immigrants during her term on the Athens City Council.

Jarvis is the first black American elected to office in a country that has historically been ethnically and racially homogenous, and is struggling to assimilate thousands of foreign newcomers.

"No one looks at me like I am a foreigner. I am in the privileged position of them accepting me as one of them," she said. "I am a Greek."

Jarvis became one of the first immigrants to hold public office, finishing fifth on the socialist party ballot with 5,140 votes. By comparison, the ticket's top vote-getter for a seat on the Athens city council received 12,630 votes, according to official results announced late Friday.

Three other non-Greeks -- a Pole and two Palestinians -- who sought seats on the council were not elected.

Local government elections were held throughout Greece Oct. 13, but Athens' was forced into a run off a week later after neither of the top two candidates received the 50 percent required to win.

It took almost two weeks for officials to count the thousands of ballots for Athens city council.

A former professional basketball player for Panathinaikos Athens, Jarvis, 44, gained fame in Greece for her athletic ability as well as for being a model and actress.

Jarvis gained citizenship after marrying a Greek. She emigrated to Greece in 1982 from Boston.