Civil engineer John Schulte V defeated downtown business owner Dave Klatt Tuesday to become the new 1st Ward Albert Lea city councilor.

In what was a special election with less than 25 percent voter turnout, Schulte received 274 votes followed by Klatt with 218.

There were 492 votes cast — including 11 absentee ballots — out of 2,216 registered voters. This equaled out to a 22 percent voter turnout.

“Thanks for everybody’s support,” Schulte said upon hearing the news. “I thank Dave for putting his name in. I think he was a well-qualified candidate.”

Schulte will fill a position that has been vacant since November, after former 1st Ward Councilor Vern Rasmussen accepted an immediate appointment as mayor.

Schulte is expected to officially begin in the position later this month after the votes have been canvassed.

He is married and is a partner at Jones, Haugh & Smith in Albert Lea, where he is a licensed civil engineer. He moved back to Albert Lea in 2004 after attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

In his work as a civil engineer, he has had experience working with other city councils.

After finding out the results, Klatt thanked his voters for their support and wished Schulte good luck.

“There’s a lot of hard work to do,” he said.

When asked whether he would consider running again for public office, Klatt said it would depend on the time frame at the time of election.