Candidate filings now open for Bellaire City Council Position 4 seat

Bellaire City Council officially adopted an ordinance Jan. 26 to call a special election to fill the vacant seat for Position 4, which was left empty by former City Council member Cindy Cohen-Taylor, who gave up the remainder of her term in December. The approval allowed for candidate filings to officially open Jan. 27.

What residents need to know

City Attorney Alan Petrov said this year's special election, which will be held May 2, will see some changes, including who holds the election. Because of the March primaries in 2026, he said that Harris County will not be holding the special election for the city as it has in the past.

"We're going to have to do it ourselves," Petrov said during the meeting. "To make things simpler, instead of having the five normal polling places, we're consolidating to one polling place here in City Hall."

The polling location will be at the Bellaire Civic Center, located at 7008 South Rice Ave.

Due to the change, Petrov said the city will front approximately $50,000 for the election equipment.

Get involved

Interested candidates have until March 3 to file an application for the position. To be eligible to be a candidate, a person must:

• Be a United States citizen
• Be 21 years of age or older on the first day of the term to be filled at the election
• Have not been determined mentally incompetent by a final judgment of a court
• Have not been convicted of a felony
• Have resided continuously in Texas within the corporate limits of Bellaire for 12 months
• Be a qualified, registered voter in Harris County

Stay tuned

The candidate who fills the vacant seat after the election will serve the remainder of the term through January 2028.