Waitsburg Council Election Tight

WAITSBURG - April 1 marked the voting deadline for the annual election of Waitsburg's mayor and city council. Walt Gobel ran unop- posed and was re-elected mayor, but the race for the fifth seat on the council is heated.

Incumbents Martin Dunn, Kevin House, K.C. Kuykendall, and Karl Newell, all running on the "Truth and Trust" ticket, will be re-elected to their council positions. As of April 9th standings, Debra Callahan, who declared candidacy on March 8, will replace Scott Nettles, by a slim mar- gin of two votes.

Callahan will be the first woman on the council since Kathleen Pow- ers was a council member during mayor Markeeta Littlewolf's last term in 2010. Votes will be certified at the City Council meeting at the Lion's Memorial Building at the Waitsburg Fairgrounds on April 17th at 7 p.m.

Votes received by each candidate as of April 9:

Walt Gobel 215 Kevin House 227 Karl Newell 215 Martin Dunn 206 K.C. Kuykendall 206 Debra Callahan 156 Scott Nettles 154