Nov. 5. By Dave Yochum. In a surprise for the ages, long-time Cornelius Commissioner Dave Gilroy has lost his bid for re-election, coming in sixth in a seven-way race for Town Board.

He came in ahead of only one person, his wife Diane “Dee” Gilroy. She lost, too, a set-back for a single household.

Political observers and the merely sensible were put off by a husband-wife duo —who said they were not a political team—running for the same governing body. Dave Gilroy fell about 345 votes short of the necessary fifth-place finish, a spot claimed by Tricia Sisson in her second bid for public office.

Denis Bilodeau, a long-time business and community leader, was the top vote-getter with 2,822 votes for his second term.

Dr. Michael Miltich was second, with 2,640 votes. Third- and fourth-place winners were veteran Commissioner Thurman Ross with 2,537 votes and the come-back kid, hard-working Jim Duke, with 2,488 votes. Bilodeau’s No. 1 finish means he likely becomes Mayor Pro Tem when the new board is seated in December and members vote on the mayoral stand-in.

Unlike two years ago, the results certainly won’t change; Sisson’s lead is insurmountable.Equally important, there’s finally a woman on the board after an absence of at least six years.

Mayor Woody Washam ran unopposed for his second term. He said he was delighted with the new team on the Town Board. They will be installed in December.