Candidate filing period opens for Houston City Council

The City of Houston has three city council seats open for election in the upcoming October elections.

City Council seat E, F, and G are all open, and each is a 3-year term. Candidate filing forms are available starting July 13 and filing period begins July 18 and closes July 29.

To be considered for election, a person must meet certain criteria, including be a resident of Houston, or of territory annexed to the city, for 1 year immediately prior to the election. Candidates may be required to provide proof of residency as required by the city clerk.

Additional eligibility criteria is that a person must be registered and in all other respects qualified to vote in city elections as required by the City Clerk, meaning candidates must be 18 years of age or older, a citizen of the United States, has been a resident of the state and of the district for at least 30 days just before the election, and cannot be registered to vote in a different jurisdiction. Candidates must also comply with financial disclosure and campaign reporting requirements.

If a person has met the qualifications and would like to run, declaring candidacy is a simple as submitting a Declaration of Candidacy form to the City Clerk’s Office. It must be filed in its original form-an electronic or photo copy of the form will be rejected.

Other items to remember are that candidates must declare candidacy for a specific seat, there is no fee to file to run for office, and candidates will receive a written notice of candidacy certification within four business days of filing for election.

A person can only run for one City seat or office. If after filing for office, the candidate chooses to run for a different seat or office, the candidate must submit another Declaration of Candidacy for said seat or office and a Withdrawal of Declaration of Candidacy form of the former seat or office.

Elections will be held Tuesday, October 4.

For more information, visit houstonak.com, or contact the City Clerk at (907) 892-6869