Elections

Nearly half of Houston City Council races headed to December runoff

Seven city council seats will be headed to a runoff, some including incumbents who will have to defend their seats.

An empty Houston city council chamber
Matthew Brawley
An empty Houston city council chamber

While Houston voters will return to the polls to elect a new mayor in December, they might see other races that need another vote on their ballot.

Seven city council seats will be headed to a runoff, some including incumbents who will have to defend their seats.

Most noticeable is in District G where incumbent Mary Nan Huffman is up against well-known attorney Tony Buzbee. Huffman wound up with 49.42% of the vote, just below the 50% needed to avoid a runoff. Buzbee trailed at 41.31%. A third candidate – Enyinna Isiguzo – received 9.26% of the votes.

District G covers River Oaks, Memorial and Westheimer; some of the wealthiest areas in the city.

Other seats up for re-election include:

District A – incumbent Amy Peck ran unopposed

District B – incumbent Tarsha Jackson defeated four other candidates with over 62% of the votes

District C – incumbent Abbie Kamin won with over 73% of the votes against two candidates

District D – incumbent Carolyn Evans-Shabazz received 48.8% of the votes and will be in a runoff against Travis McGee in December

District E – Fred Flickinger won the seat with over 57% of the votes. Incumbent Dave Martin ran for City Controller.

District F – incumbent Tiffany Thomas won her seat unopposed

District G – Mary Nan Huffman will see Buzbee in December, as she was close to not needing a runoff, with 49.42% of the votes against Buzbee's 41.3%.

District H – Newcomers Mario Castillo received 46.38% of the votes, and will see his opponent Cynthia Reyes Revilla in December in a runoff, as she received 24.72% of the votes. The candidates are vying for incumbent Karla Cisneros' seat.

District I – Robert Gallegos’ seat, who ran for mayor, was up for grabs. Joaquin Martinez won it with over 58% of the vote.

District J – Incumbent Edward Pollard held on to his seat with over 62% of the vote.

District K – Incumbent Martha Castex Tatum won her seat unopposed

At-Large Positions

All of city council's At-Large positions were up for grabs, and two incumbents were looking to be re-elected: Letitia Plummer for Position 4, and Sallie Alcorn for Position 5. Plummer will be back on the ballot in December for a runoff.

At-Large positions include:

Position 1 – Julian Ramirez and Melanie Miles will continue the race for Mike Knox's seat. Ramirez received 25.21% of the votes, and Miles received 24.31%. A third candidate, Conchita Reyes, received 21.76% of the votes. The remaining votes were split amongst three other candidates.

Position 2 – Willie Davis and Nick Hellyar received 31.78% and 23.06% respectively. They will return in December to determine who will replace David Robinson. The race for Position 2 had six candidates.

Position 3 – Michael Kubosh's seat is up for grabs and will have a runoff as none of the 9 candidates received 50% or more of the votes. Richard Cantu, 22% of the votes, and Twila Carter, 20.69% of the votes, will be back on the ballot.

Position 4 – Incumbent Letitia Plummer was just under the needed amount of votes, and received 47.94% of the vote. She will face Roy Morales in December, who received 33.25% of the vote. The race had four total candidates.

Position 5 – Incumbent Sallie Alcorn held on to her seat with 59.92% of the vote, against two candidates.