Yvonne Wannemuehler will serve a second term as mayor, receiving 54 votes compared to four write-in votes. Teri Gallahan will serve her first full-fledged term as a council member, receiving 55 votes. Lynn Henn will serve his third term on the council, receiving 51 votes. There were eight write-ins for the council.

The write-in votes for mayor included: two for Gary Steel, the town's maintenance supervisor; one for Helen Gunderson, founding publisher of the Gilbert Gazette; and one for Miles Moore, co-owner of the Consignment Gallery and president of the Gilbert Main Street Association.

The write-in votes for the city council included: two for Deb Adolphson and one apiece for Joe Battles, Pauline Geist, Joe Loonan, John Swart, Pam Vandenberg, and Janet Warg.

In contrast to the heated election in nearby Ames, where there were contests for each position on the ballot with plenty of yard signs and letters to the editor in support of candidates in the recent weeks, there was little if any buzz about town in Gilbert regarding its election. And there were no yard signs.

The 8.13 percent turnout for the November 8 election was similar to the 6 percent turnout in 1993 when 25 of Gilbert's 445 registered voters went to the polls and the 9 percent turnout in 1995 when 42 of the 464 voters went to the polls. The highest percent turnout in recent Gilbert history was 27.56 percent in 2001 when 186 of 675 voters cast ballots.

In 2003, no one was on the ballot for mayor, and Wannemuehler, who had been chair of Gilbert's planning and zoning commission, ran a last minute write-in campaign and assumed the mayoral seat that had been held for two terms by Bob Jaquis. Craig Allen, a council member since 2002, did not seek re-election. Council members Chad Cook, Bob Jaquis, and Jon Popp will complete their four-year terms on December 31, 2007.

Gallahan is the only one of the elected officials who is a native of Gilbert. She had originally been appointed to the council in the summer of 2004 to serve as an interim member, stepping in for Cook while he was called to active military duty in Afghanistan. Cook resumed his council duties in the summer of 2005.

All three winners in this years election work at Iowa State University. Wannemuehler is a research scientist in the veterinary microbiology and preventive medicine department. Gallahan is a document center operator for the university printing services. Henn is a seed production manager for the Committee for Agricultural Development.

Cook is co-head football coach and teaches history and psychology in the Gilbert school district. Jaquis works at Iowa State where he provides computer support for the National Soil Tilth Laboratory. Popp is an engineer with Popp Engineering, Inc. in Ames.

For further information, visit the Story County Auditor's web site. You can also talk to city administrator John Lloyd and check the Gazette's unofficial listing and photos of Gilbert's current leaders.