The vote-counting came right down to the wire, and when it was all said and done, Weyburn's incumbent mayor Don Schlosser emerged the victor in the city council elections, defeating his closest challenger Debra Button by just 11 votes.

The voting results for the mayoral race ended with 1,817 ballots cast for Schlosser, 1,806 for Button, and 346 for second challenger George Kalman. By percentage of votes, Schlosser garnered 45.5 per cent, Button 45.2 percent and Kalman recieved 8.7 per cent.

On council, all of the incumbents won back their seats, to be joined by newcomers Gary Frederickson and Bill McKenzie. The incumbents included Dick Michel, Ray Hamm, Bill Rudachyk and Rob Stephanson. The new council was sworn in for duty on Monday evening.

Speaking to his cheering supporters and campaign workers at the Weyburn Inn, where they watched the results come in, Schlosser acknowledged it took a lot of work to make his third term in office possible.

Asked in an interview if he thought the results would be this close, Schlosser said, "We knew all along it was going to be a close one. Debbie has done a good job as a candidate. I had a good team working for me from all walks of life, and we kept those phones going until shortly before closing time."

While both Button and Kalman called for a change in leadership in this election, Schlosser said this result showed people are happy with the way the city is operating currently.

"I think people around the city have seen what the council has done in the last three years, not only me but council. Why would we want to change now?," he commented.

Button's loss also means she is now gone from council, and Schlosser said, "Debbie is going to be missed, because she did a good job. Any committee she sat on, she did a good job with."

For her part, Button was philosophical about her loss, and indicated she is ready to move on in her life.

"Don did a good job, and now my life will take a different direction from here. It was absolutely a life-changing six years for me. I was so lucky to be on council," she said.

Asked if she will miss being on council, she replied, "No. I was ready to move on. I will miss the wonderful people I've met around the province, but for me it was time to either move forward (as mayor) or to go on. The people decided This is the way it was meant to be. Everything happens for a reason."

As for her future, Button said she's a product of Weyburn, and as such will seek out opportunities to serve as a volunteer. She didn't know if she would take another shot at running for mayor, saying that is too far into the future to know if she will want to or be able to run.

Reached by telephone, third challenger George Kalman was disappointed at the result, but accepted the choice of the electorate.

"The people got out and they had their say, and they elected who they wanted. People deserve what they elect," he said, adding he thought he would've been closer in the totals than he was.

Of the ultimate winner of the race, Kalman commented, "It's unfortunate we didn't get a change. It would've been nice for Mrs. Button to get in."

Kalman had no regrets in running for the mayor's chair, as he said the alternative would have been unacceptable to him.

"I thought I'd go for the mayor's chair because I wasn't going to go another three years under that administration. I wasn't prepared to do that. It's not sour grapes, that's just the way it is. Now it's up to the people to keep a watch, because I'm out of it. I hope the new people will go in with their eyes open and carry on questioning them on things and being investigative. Don't go in with rose-coloured glasses," he said.

Voter turnout was slightly higher than the last civic election held for Weyburn council in 1997, with a turnout of 61.4 per cent of eligible voters, or just under 4,000 votes, cast for the mayor's position. For council, the turnout was 59.88 per cent or 3,892 votes, about 100 less than were cast for the mayor.

In addition, there were nine rejected ballots; a recount could only have been requested if the number of rejected ballots exceeded the difference between Schlosser and Button, which was 11 votes.

The Public (Sunrise) and Separate (Holy Family) board elections both had a lower turnout, with 50.5 per cent of eligible voters casting a ballot for the Public trustees, and 49.1 per cent voting for the Holy Family trustees.