In this year’s May 2 election, the seats for Sugar Land mayor and at-large positions 1 and 2 will be on the ballot. Voters will also see several charter amendment items on the ballot.
As of the deadline to file Feb. 14, incumbent Mayor Joe Zimmerman and At-Large Position 2 Council Member Jennifer Lane are running for re-election unopposed.
Taylor Landin and William Ferguson are both running to fill the at-large Position 1 seat currently filled by Himesh Gandhi. Due to term limits, Gandhi could not file for re-election, as he has already been elected to serve four consecutive two-year terms.
Landin, who works for the Greater Houston Partnership, is a fourth-generation Sugar Land resident and serves on the Sugar Land Planning and Zoning Commission. He also serves on the board for the Sugar Land Heritage Foundation and served for five years on the city’s Land Use Advisory Committee, according to the Sugar Land election website.
Ferguson has lived in Greatwood—a community annexed by Sugar Land in 2017—for 15 years. He is the Texas director of business development for Assured Imaging, a women’s wellness company, the election website stated. Ferguson also serves the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office formerly was a police officer in Stafford.
In addition to electing a new at-large Position 1 council member, residents will be able to weigh in on nine propositions related to charter amendments:
- Proposition A: Term and term limits
This would increase the term length from two years to three years and change term limits from four consecutive two-year terms to three consecutive three-year terms. - Proposition B: Qualifications
This would require the city secretary to verify City Council candidate and incumbent residency by viewing a Texas driver’s license or other identification card and a voter registration card. - Proposition C: Vacancies
This would give council 60 days to fill an office vacancy of less than 12 months. - Proposition D: Council meetings
This would mandate council to vote ‘aye’ or ‘nay’ on all ordinances and resolutions, unless prohibited by law. Council currently takes an electronic vote on items for the record. - Proposition E: Forfeiture of office
This would mean a member of council would automatically resign from office if convicted of a felony or crime of immorality. - Proposition F: Resign to run
This would require a member of council to resign from office upon filing for a position in an external public office. - Proposition G: Petition signatures
This would require initiative and referendum petitions to be signed by at least 15% of registered voters as of the petition deadline. - Proposition H: Petition signatures
This would reduce the number of signatures required on a mayoral or at-large position recall petition to 15% of registered voters. - Proposition I: Petition signatures
This would reduce the number of required signatures on a district council member recall petition to 15% of registered voters.
