District C is vacant because Councilmember Abbie Kamin resigned to run for Harris County Attorney. The winner fills that seat until January 2028.
SEE ALSO: Abbie Kamin tapped as next Harris County attorney
The district has 169,000 registered voters and includes communities such as Montrose, the Heights, Meyerland, and Oak Forest.
Joe Panzarella was the top vote getter among seven candidates in the April 4th special election. He earned a third of the 9,400 votes cast. He said he's a grassroots organizer and a renewable energy developer.
"I love Houston, I believe deeply in its potential, but it can be hard to live in," he told ABC13. "And I want to make it easier for all of us. I am running for safer streets, for more affordable housing, and for transparency at City Hall. I help push forward multi-million dollar utility-scale infrastructure projects across the nation, and a lot of this city council job is getting complicated infrastructure projects across the finish line."
Nick Hellyar is also in the runoff. He trailed Panzarella by about 1,000 votes. He was in Mangum Manor Park, which he says is in disrepair, and needs an advocate at City Hall.
"The city has a lot of issues right now," Hellyar said. "Not to mention public safety, the budget crisis that we're bumping up against, infrastructure needs."
"District C has flooded many times over the years. Neighbors and leaders in these communities are fighting every day for their neighborhoods and for their communities," Hellyar said. "I want to use my experience working at city hall and as a small business owner to go down to the city and advocate for them and on their behalf and with them on the needs in their neighborhoods."
Turnout will be key in a race with an expected low turnout. In April, less than 6% of eligible voters in District C cast a ballot.
"There's definitely all kinds of issues that are facing us here in Houston, but I also think that there's plenty of solutions and plenty of things to be optimistic about," Panzarella said.
"This has been a volunteer-driven, grassroots type of campaign," he said. "We've knocked on over 15,000 doors since April 4. We are really excited to be able to meet Houstonians where they are, at their door, having conversations about what they want to see from their local government, and we're just really excited to continue having those conversations."
Hellyar, a realtor and former council staffer, thinks he'll expand on his support in the runoff.
"We can really hammer home on the experience," he said. "The support that we have from business and labor and the broad coalition that we've kind of built on people just wanting to focus on neighborhoods here in Houston and make Houston a better place to live."
Early voting runs from April 29 through May 12. Election Day is Saturday, May 16.