 Following his defeat for reelection to the Senate, Gentile entered into the special election to fill Golden's city council seat in 2003.In a field of five candidates, four of whom were Democrats, Gentile edged out a win against Republican Rosemarie O'Keefe by 31 votes and has held the seat for 12 years until he was forced to give it up because of term limits.He chaired the Select Committee on Libraries in the Council, and served on the Aging, Cultural Affairs, Finance, and Public Safety committees.