In April 1977, he had run as the Republican nominee against incumbent Democratic mayor Albert H. Wheeler, and lost by a margin of a single vote, with Wheeler prevailing by a count of 10,660 to 10,659.
In April 1977, he had run as the Republican nominee against incumbent Democratic mayor Albert H. Wheeler, the city's first African-American mayor. Belcher lost by a margin of a single vote, with Wheeler prevailing by a count of 10,660 to 10,659.