Sugar Land council calls May 3 elections, schedules filing and early-voting dates

The Sugar Land City Council on Tuesday adopted Ordinance No. 2369 to call a general election for Saturday, May 3, 2025, to elect the mayor and two at-large council positions and to place a special election to fill unexpired terms in single-member Districts 2 and 4 on that same ballot.

City Clerk Linda Midenhall summarized the ordinance and related timelines, saying, “This election must be officially called by February 14.” The council voted 7-0 to adopt the ordinance.

The ordinance, as described by Midenhall, places the mayor and two at-large seats on three-year terms beginning in May 2025 and concluding in May 2028. The special elections for Districts 2 and 4 are to fill unexpired terms that will run from May 2025 through May 2027. Midenhall told the council the candidate-filing period for the general election opened January 15 and will close at 5 p.m. on February 14; the filing period for the special election will align with that same February 14 deadline.

Midenhall also listed current candidates who had filed as of the meeting: for mayor, William Ferguson, Nishad Kramali, Carol McCutcheon and Michelle McKeska; for at-large Position 1, George Kakanet, Aquil Verk, Musafar Vora and Jim Bondarhar; and for at-large Position 2, Robert Boettcher and Amir Malik. She noted the staff report had an earlier date but the filing period for the special election will match the general-election filing window.

Under the ordinance the city will enter a joint election services agreement with Fort Bend County. Midenhall said Fort Bend County will serve as election administrator and that John Oldham will serve as the city’s early voting clerk, overseeing polling location assignments, hiring election workers, mail ballots and other administrative duties. The city will participate in the countywide early-voting system that allows voters to cast ballots at any county polling location during early voting and on election day.

Key dates Midenhall provided include: last day to register to vote — April 3; early voting period — April 22 through April 29; placement-drawing for ballot order — February 24 at 10 a.m. (after the candidate-withdrawal period ends at 5 p.m. on February 21); and the canvass of the election — between May 6 and May 14, when oaths of office will also be administered.

The item drew one clarification from a councilmember asking whether winners of the special election would serve full three-year terms; Midenhall replied that those winners will serve the unexpired terms only. Councilmembers then moved to adopt the ordinance; the motion received a second and the ordinance passed 7-0.

The ordinance and the joint election services agreement authorize staff to coordinate with Fort Bend County on logistics and timing; the council did not vote on any changes to polling locations or vote centers during the meeting.