With the vote total remaining steady and all voting centers reporting in Galveston County, Scott Higginbotham has received the majority of votes needed to avoid a runoff in a crowd six-person race for League City City Council, according to unofficial election results from the county.
In an email the night of May 3, Higginbotham said he was grateful for the support and he looks forward to "rolling up my sleeves and getting to work for them on City Council."
"The voters in League City have decisively decided that they want leaders on council who are going to focus on issues that matter most to them—lower taxes, improved infrastructure and safe communities," he said in the email.
Updated 10 p.m., May 3
Scott Higginbotham, in a crowded six-person race, pulled out a victory and a slight majority for Position 5 of League City City Council, according to unofficial election results from Galveston County.
The results, if they hold, mean Higginbotham will avoid a runoff election in June as he received more than 50% of the vote, according to city code.
According to unofficial results from Galveston County, the results are as follows:
- Higginbotham, with 2,595 votes, or 50.18%
- Kyrsten Garcia, with 1,827 votes, or 35.33%
- Lisa Welty, with 355 votes, or 6.87%
- Erin Avalos, with 179 votes, or 3.46%
- Charlie Keeler, with 115 votes, or 2.22%
- Tim Pelletier, with 100 votes, or 1.93%
Posted 7:20 p.m., May 3
Polls are closing across Texas as of 7 p.m., including in Galveston County where several City Council and school board races are on the ballot.
As of 7 p.m., Scott Higginbotham is leading the six-person race for League City City Council, Position 5, according to unofficial results from Galveston County.
Results are not final until canvassed at a later date and are subject to change throughout the night.
What readers need to know
The results, according to the unofficial results, are as follows:
- Higginbotham, with 1,644 votes, or 53.26%
- Kyrsten Garcia, with 1,022 votes, or 33.11%
- Lisa Welty, with 221 votes, or 7.16%
- Erin Avalos, with 87 votes, or 2.82%
- Tim Pelletier, with 59 votes, or 1.91%
- Charlie Keeler, with 54 votes, or 1.75%
How we got here
While League City typically hosts City Council elections in November, Position 5 became open in early March after Justin Hicks resigned, Community Impact previously reported.
Hicks was reelected to the position in November, meaning the seat had nearly a full term left. State code requires a city to hold a special election for any seat vacated with more than a year left in the term.
City Council called for the special election on March 11, which allowed it to appear on the May 3 ballot, according to city documents.
What else?
Originally, seven candidates filed to run. However, one candidate, Timothy Brown, withdrew in late March, according to the city’s election page.
Looking ahead
The term for Position 5 will expire in November 2028, according to the city’s website. If no candidate can secure more than 50% of the vote on May 3, a runoff will be held between the top two vote-getters on June 7.
Community Impact will update this article as more election day vote totals are released. All results are unofficial until canvassed.
Visit communityimpact.com/voter-guide/election-results to see results from all local elections in your community.
