Although the presidential election cycle wrapped up a few months ago, local elections in Pearland and Friendswood are heating up.

Between the two cities, six seats in city government will be on the ballot during the May general election.

In Pearland, three city council positions and the mayor's seat will be on the ballot.

As of the evening of Jan. 18, longtime Mayor Tom Reid and Council member Gary Moore were the only two applicants in Pearland who filed for the May general election.

"There are lot of things changing in Pearland today, and that's because of the tremendous growth we’re experiencing," Reid said. "I haven’t finished my job yet. I need to finish a few things, and it’s going to take three years to wind it up and give you a chance to see all the things we’re doing in Pearland.”

Reid served as mayor of Pearland from 1978-1990 and then from 1995 to the present. Reid first moved to the city in 1965 when it was a small town of about 6,000 people. He worked for 32 years at the Johnson Space Center before retiring in 1997.

Moore also filed for re-election on Jan. 18. Moore, who has been a Pearland resident since 2004, was elected to his first term in 2014 and was later appointed by council to serve as Mayor Pro Tem.

Moore said he was driven to serve on city council after hearing the struggles of small business owners in Pearland.

"I just wanted to be involved and give back to my community mainly, which has been so good to me," Moore said. "Some of the local small businesses in town, I talked to a lot of the owners and they told me all the hoops they had to jump through just to be able to do different things to their business, and I wanted to make an impact with that."

During his time in office, he was involved in adjusting impact fee schedules for businesses opening in Pearland. This year, the city will form a new committee to streamline the permitting process, and Moore hopes to be appointed to that committee if re-elected.

"I really enjoy giving back to the community, and I hope I get the opportunity to serve another three years," Moore said.

The two other council positions on the ballot includes Position No. 5, which is held by Greg Hill, and a newly created Position No. 7.

Hill filed his letter of resignation and will step down once his successor is elected. Hill decided to resign to campaign for Brazoria County Court at Law No. 1, which will be on the ballot in 2018.

In Friendswood, seats currently held by councilmen Billy Enochs and John Scott will be placed on the ballot.

Enochs, who has served two terms, announced during the Friendswood City Council meeting on Jan. 9 that he would not run for re-election. He hopes to step down after the May elections and focus on his bid for Galveston County commissioner in 2018.

"I've gotten a lot of good feedback from the citizens, and everything I wanted to accomplish, I've accomplished," Enochs said. “I’d have to step down in a year [to run for county commissioner], and it didn’t feel right to get potentially re-elected and then step down.”

Scott was unavailable for comment.

Sally Harris Branson filed for Enochs' council seat as of Jan. 18. Branson is a financial advisor and branch manager for Raymond James Financial Services Inc. She was unavailable for comment.

David O'Farrell, a realtor, filed for Scott's council seat as of Jan. 18. O'Farrell has been on the city's planning and zoning commission for 10 years, serving as its chairman the last two years. The May election would mark the first time O'Farrell has run for an elected position.

"At the planning and zoning level, we have the opportunity to look at all the global issues affecting the growth of the city. From that perspective, you really see the nuts and bolts of how the city can grow in a way that’s reflective of our city’s values and heritage," O'Farrell said.

O'Farrell hopes to focus on downtown revitalization efforts, traffic congestion and "controlled growth" in Friendswood.

No other candidates filed for the Friendswood City Council elections.

The candidate filing period for the May general election runs through Feb. 17.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Billy Enochs expects to run for Brazoria County commissioner in 2018. The story has been updated to reflect Enochs expects to run for Galveston County commissioner in 2018.