On the ballot for the April 4 election are:\u00a0<\/p>\n
- \n
- Sophia Campos, a teacher and LGBTQ+ activist<\/li>\n
- Laura Gallier, an accountant<\/li>\n
- Nick Hellyar, a real estate agent and former City Hall staffer<\/li>\n
- Angelica Luna Kaufman, former chief of staff to Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo<\/li>\n
- Dr. Audrey Nath, a pediatric neurologist and former HISD trustee candidate<\/li>\n
- Patrick Oathout, former U.S. Army officer and AI industry professional\u00a0<\/li>\n
- Joe Panzarella, green energy developer and president of the Freedmen\u2019s Town Fourth Ward Super Neighborhood<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
There\u2019s no clear frontrunner in the nonpartisan race, although Hellyar, backed by the police and firefighters\u2019 unions and well known from his time at City Hall, has raised the most money, with about $46,000. Panzarella hosted his campaign kickoff event in January with Texas Sen. Molly Cook, D-Houston, and was endorsed by the Houston Chronicle.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nath, who has also been joined by Cook at various campaign events, is backed by the Houston Progressive Caucus<\/a>. Oathout is a Houston native who touts his leadership as an out gay man who led a tank platoon as a U.S. Army officer and the only candidate who works in the burgeoning AI industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI joined the Army because I didn\u2019t want MAGA taking over our elections,\u201d Oathout said at a candidate forum on March 21. \u201cI\u2019m back in Houston now because I want city council members with courage who are going to push for affordability, public safety and infrastructure.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The District C seat has been held by a Jewish woman for the past 12 years, with Ellen Cohen preceding Kamin. None of the candidates in the current race are Jewish.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The seat has traditionally \u201cleaned left but not radical left,\u201d said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston. \u201cWe may see that happen in this election,\u201d he said, referring to Panzarella and Nath as the most progressive on the ballot. \u201cIf that happens, this person could be a very outspoken member of council. It would be interesting to see how it changes the dynamics around the horseshoe. I don\u2019t live in the district so I\u2019m just kind of watching with popcorn.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat fight is worth having,\u201d he added, referring to someone standing up to the status quo. \u201cIn a strong mayor system, if no one is going to speak up against the mayor, it\u2019s like, what are we doing here? People like to see a little pushback, and this is going to be that district. It can\u2019t be all [District J Councilman Edward] Pollard. He\u2019s got to have some help if he\u2019s going to make a difference and so far it\u2019s just been him tilting at windmills.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nancy Sims, a UH political science lecturer, lives in District C and said its populace is the most educated and the most civically engaged in Houston. She said earlier this week she hasn\u2019t decided yet who she thinks will win or make the runoff, if there is one.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t get a feel for who is standing out in that pack,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t have a frontrunner in mind.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The candidates vying for District C appear to agree on more than they disagree. Of the six candidates at last week\u2019s forum in The Heights, five said they\u2019d used public transportation within the past couple of weeks (Campos said it\u2019s been years since she\u2019s taken METRO and Gallier was not present). All supported removing minimum parking requirements for new construction and implementing \u201croad diets\u201d that support safety over speed and lane reduction.\u00a0<\/p>\n
None of the candidates at last week\u2019s forum took a strong stance against Mayor John Whitmire, although Oathout said the mayor reminds him of Army generals he\u2019s worked with: \u201cinstitutionalists with decades of experience but they can often be incrementalists with resistance to feedback.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Most candidates appeared to be in favor of multimodal transportation, and several spoke specifically about bicycle lanes. Whitmire established himself as a foe of local cyclists when he made the decision last year to remove the Austin Street bike lanes<\/a> without a public discussion or council approval.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nath commended Kamin and council members Alejandra Salinas and Pollard for their recent proposal<\/a> to reform HPD interaction with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It\u2019s been suggested by government watchdogs that the council proposal undermines a directive<\/a> given by Whitmire and Police Chief Noe Diaz but Salinas said it does not prevent the police from doing their jobs but rather allows them to focus on public safety.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Panzarella<\/a> is the founder of No Higher No Wider I-10<\/a>, an effort to \u201creconnect a community divided by an interstate\u201d by putting caps over parts of the freeway that cut through Inner Loop Houston. Based on that advocacy, Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones secured a grant to study the feasibility of the project, Panzarella said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now, our streets are unsafe,\u201d he said at his kickoff in January. \u201cThis past year, we had more road deaths than homicides. That\u2019s by design. Our roads are built in a way where drivers drive too fast. They encourage rash decision-making, and they endanger pedestrians, drivers and cyclists.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Panzarella has also harped on how expensive it is to live in Houston, whether one is a renter or a homeowner. The Fourth Ward Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone<\/a> is \u201csitting on 27 empty lots,\u201d valuable land that the candidate says could be converted into affordable housing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are running to redesign our roads, to bring multimodal transit to every Houstonian, and to slash permitting processes to make it easier and quicker to build affordable housing,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Joe-Panzarella.jpeg\")
Joe Panzarella was the first to announce his candidacy for District C, hosting a campaign kickoff in January with Senator Molly Cook. Credit: April Towery<\/p>\nHellyar<\/a>, a former executive director of BikeHouston, has also highlighted the need for improved streets and sidewalks, transit safety and better walkability. He touted his work as a former staffer in the District I constituent services office, where he helped resolve issues with trash pickup and drainage and permitting, and acted as a liaison between city staff and neighborhood representatives.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMajor issues we\u2019re going to focus on are public safety, number one. If we don\u2019t keep our neighborhoods safe, nothing else really matters,\u201d Hellyar said at last week\u2019s forum. \u201cAnd flooding infrastructure: District C has a lot of portions of it in the flood zone.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hellyar noted that he\u2019s been working on transportation issues for at least 20 years and wants to draft a districtwide transportation plan that would identify and fix dangerous intersections, and work with TIRZ boards on putting funding toward infrastructure upgrades. \u201cIf we\u2019re going to make Houston a place where businesses want to relocate, where people want to raise families, we\u2019re going to have to build a system that works for everyone,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople want to walk, people want to bike, and people want to get in their cars.\u201d<\/p>\n
He pointed out that the new District C council member would be sworn in during the city budget process and noted that he is endorsed by Council Member Sallie Alcorn, who chairs the Budget and Fiscal Affairs Committee.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Oathout<\/a> suggested looking at existing vacant commercial property for conversion into affordable apartments. \u201cI don\u2019t tell people that Houston is a car city; it\u2019s a neighborhood city,\u201d Oathout said. \u201cWe\u2019re defined by our neighborhoods and we need to build the infrastructure that matches it.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Patrick-Oathout.jpeg\")
Patrick Oathout is running for the District C city council seat. Credit: April Towery<\/p>\n