Community organizer Joe Panzarella and real estate agent Nick Hellyar are headed to a May runoff for Houston’s District C city council seat.
The elected representative will oversee portions of The Heights, Washington Avenue, Fourth Ward, Montrose, Rice Village and Meyerland — fast-growing areas with the highest civic engagement in Houston.
Panzarella, a green energy developer, moved to Fourth Ward in 2023 and worked with longtime residents in the predominantly Black community to activate the Freedmen’s Town Fourth Ward Super Neighborhood, an effort to bridge communication between residents and city government to improve services and preserve the area’s history.
The 31-year-old grew up in Kingwood but immersed himself in Houston politics over the past few years and became a fixture at City Hall to advocate for his neighborhood. Panzarella, who got about 33 percent of the vote to Hellyar’s 22.5 percent, said Sunday that District C voters supported his bold vision for a Houston “that works for all of us.”
“We’ve come together from across District C because we know that Houstonians need safe streets, affordable housing and a responsible government,” he said in a statement.
Hellyar is well-known among government watchdogs for his time as a constituent services manager and staff member at City Hall. He’s endorsed by Houston’s police and firefighter unions and is rumored to be the preferred candidate of Mayor John Whitmire.
Hellyar, 44, said he’ll continue to campaign on safe neighborhoods and streets, affordable housing, expansion of green space and flood mitigation initiatives.
“This race is especially important because the new member will take office as soon as council begins the review of the budget,” he said. “I’m ready to start day one with no need for on-the-job training.”
Other candidates in the race included teacher Sophia Campos, accountant Laura Gallier, Harris County judge’s chief of staff Angelica Luna Kaufman, pediatric neurologist Audrey Nath, and AI industry professional Patrick Oathout.
The nonpartisan position is important because it adds another voice to an ongoing discussion at City Hall on how Houston police interact with ICE and provides a voice to advocate specifically for District C residents during budget talks, some candidates said on the campaign trail.
About 168,500 people live in District C, and 9,392 voters showed up to the polls in Saturday’s race. The special election to fill the unexpired term of Abbie Kamin, who is running for Harris County attorney, was the only item on the ballot.
With all precincts reporting late Saturday night, the final vote tallies showed:
- Joe Panzarella 3,131 votes or 33.34 percent
- Nick Hellyar 2,117 votes or 22.54 percent
- Audrey Nath 1,870 votes or 19.91 percent
- Patrick Oathout 1,205 votes or 12.83 percent
- Angelica Luna Kaufman 471 votes or 5.01 percent
- Laura Gallier 435 votes or 4.63 percent
- Sophia Campos 163 votes or 1.74 percent
Public safety, infrastructure and affordable housing opportunities were among the top priorities of all the candidates present at a March forum in The Heights. The candidates appeared agreeable to forwarding initiatives put in place by progressive Kamin, who won the Democratic primary for county attorney last month and will face Republican Jacqueline Lucci Smith in November. The District C unexpired city council term runs through January 1, 2028.
Kaufman, who finished fifth in Saturday’s race, told the Houston Press that District C is one of the fastest-growing districts, not only in Houston but in Texas.
“Inside the Loop has always been very attractive for people to live in, especially professionals,” she said. “The decisions that [the District C council member makes] over the next year are going to impact this region and the city of Houston for the next decade.”
The budget process is critical because “we just don’t have a lot of money,” Kaufman added. “The only way we’re going to be able to generate that revenue is through economic development, and it’s going to be through making sure that we have thriving neighborhoods and communities. I feel like that opportunity is in District C more than anywhere else in the city.”
Up until the day before the election, some District C residents said they weren’t sure who to vote for and were unable to predict who would win. Community activist and District C resident Neil Aquino urged his neighbors on social media to vote for “anyone other than Nick Hellyar.”
“We don’t need to lose District C representation to Whitmire and the police union,” Aquino wrote on social media.
Hellyar’s supporters, however, have said he’s a common-sense guy and the only one with the experience of working inside City Hall who won’t have a learning curve when debating budget expenditures and addressing constituent needs. “Nick will be able to jump right in as an effective participant and contributor,” said Sallie Alcorn, an at-large council member who oversees Houston’s Budget and Fiscal Affairs Committee.
Hellyar’s ideas for budget amendments, use of district service funds and plans for forensic audits are outlined on his website. “Nick will have amendments ready to propose to the budget to ensure that District C gets its fair share of city expenditures,” the website states. “These include expanding funding for speed cushions on residential streets experiencing dangerous speeding and cut-through traffic, ensuring that air conditioning systems in Solid Waste Department trucks are properly repaired and maintained, and improving heavy trash collection response times.”
Panzarella has campaigned on safe streets and responsible, sustainable government. He’s the founder of No Higher No Wider I-10, an effort to “reconnect a community divided by an interstate” 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.
“Joe will put safety first by fixing sidewalks, slowing dangerous streets, improving drainage and designing roads that protect people,” Panzarella’s website states. “No one should fear getting to work, school or the park — whether they drive, walk, bike or roll.”
“Right now, our streets are unsafe,” he said at his campaign kickoff in January. “This past year, we had more road deaths than homicides. That’s 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.”
Third-place vote getter Nath was backed by the Houston Progressive Caucus and outraised her opponents with more than $100,000 in her coffers. She had a substantial following from a recent bid for the Houston ISD school board, which she narrowly lost to incumbent Bridget Wade.
Nath is expected to endorse Panzarella in the runoff but could not be reached for comment Sunday morning.
