Councilman Robert Gallegos to run for mayor of Houston

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Houston City Councilman Robert Gallegos, who represents the greater East End, is the latest candidate to make his bid for mayor.

According to our partners at the Houston Chronicle, Gallegos filed the paperwork on Thursday to begin raising campaign funds.

Gallegos is currently the only Latino member of city council and would be the city's first Latino mayor if elected.

In 2013, he was elected to represent District 1, which includes downtown, east downtown, Clinton Park, parts of northeast Houston, the greater East End, and the Houston Ship Channel, as well as communities along I-45 south from downtown to Hobby Airport.

Gallegos is far from the only person looking to take over from Sylvester Turner as the leader of the nation's fourth-largest city this year.

In late November 2022, State Sen. John Whitmire (D-Houston), formally launched his mayoral bid. Whitmire has served in the Senate over the last 39 years.

Also in the mayoral race are former Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins and Houston attorney Amanda Edwards.

Hollins helped run the 2020 election, setting up drive-thru and overnight voting systems that were later outlawed at the state level.

This is the first time Hollins is running for a city or countywide position.

Edwards served as an at-large city councilmember from 2016 to 2020 and ran unsuccessfully against Sen. John Cornyn in 2020.

Edwards, a Houston native, attended Eisenhower High School.

At last check, local businessman Lee Kaplan is also running. According to Kaplan's website, he also grew up in Houston, going on to become a lawyer before launching his own firm.

Election day is Nov. 7.

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