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The Decent Ballot  /  Texas  /  Brazos County  /  Bryan  /  Tuesday, November 3, 2026

Bryan, TX

Who on your ballot seems like good people, in a sentence or two each, with sources. Fill out your ballot in ten minutes.

best choice in the race Seems like good people Compromised Not good people Not enough info

Who is running in Bryan, Texas in 2026

Bryan Mayor of Bryan
Rafael D. Peña III and Bobby Gutierrez
Bryan City Council, District 1
Paul Torres and Chris Scotti
Bryan City Council, District 2
Chrissy Ransome, Ray Arrington and Jeannette Stewart Moseley
Bryan ISD Trustee, District 2
David Sessum and Chris Cartwright

Bryan elections

City races are nonpartisan. Bryan elects a mayor and council members by district. This section also has the Bryan ISD trustee race and the district's tax election, which reach parts of College Station and the rural county too, and the city's Texas Avenue medians question.

Mayor of Bryan

Vote for one

Both seem decent, so this is close. Our pick goes to Peña for his push to give residents more time in front of the council.

Rafael D. Peña III

Seems like good people (best choice in this race)

Rural letter carrier since 2016 and former union president; Bryan City Council, 2013 to 2016; Brazos Central Appraisal District board

Wants the council back to two regular meetings a month and to reopen "Hear Citizens" so residents can reach their officials. Says the city should understand water and power demands before backing resource-heavy projects like SpaceX's planned Terafab plant in Grimes County.

Sources: League of Women Voters (Vote411), Community Impact Q&A

Bobby Gutierrez

Seems like good people

Incumbent since 2022; owner of House of Tires; former council member and Planning and Zoning chair

Helped Bryan ISD secure the land for its 100-plus-acre workforce and career-tech campus. In 2023 he publicly apologized for calling a College Station sewer line route through a south Bryan neighborhood a "bloodbath."

Sources: City of Bryan, WTAW, Community Impact Q&A

Bryan City Council, District 1

Vote for one

Both seem decent. Our pick goes to the incumbent, a public health worker with a record on drainage and street repair.

Paul Torres

Seems like good people (best choice in this race)

Incumbent since 2022; public health emergency preparedness manager, Brazos County Health District; co-owner of BenRoz Construction

Says more than $50 million in drainage, road and other infrastructure work was finished or started in his four years. Wants to restart the stalled Midtown Park entertainment project and recover the city's money, and favors moving public comment earlier in meetings.

Sources: Community Impact, City of Bryan

Chris Scotti

Seems like good people

Director of strategic partnerships, Texas A&M Innovation; College Station City Council, 2005 to 2008

Says he would have opposed the city's additional loan to the stalled movie-theater project and wants clearer public explanations of what delayed road repairs cost. Proposes more chances for residents to talk to council members.

Sources: Community Impact, Campaign site

Bryan City Council, District 2

Vote for one

Chrissy Ransome

Seems like good people (best choice in this race)

Entrepreneurship program manager; founder and director of a nonprofit

Says affordability is pushing out multigenerational families and wants zoning to weigh wages and home prices. Proposes holding Bryan and College Station council meetings on different days so working residents can attend both.

Sources: Community Impact, Community Impact Q&A

Ray Arrington

Seems like good people

Incumbent; retired after 23 years in the U.S. Air Force; Bryan resident since 1954

Wants continued work on the district's older pipes, roads and sidewalks, and better bus stops with posted routes and weekend service. Has raised concerns about building on smaller lots in established neighborhoods.

Sources: Community Impact, Community Impact Q&A

Jeannette Stewart Moseley

Not enough info

Challenger

On the ballot, but she didn't answer Community Impact's questionnaire and we found nothing else published about her.

Sources: Community Impact

Bryan ISD Trustee, District 2

Vote for one

David Sessum

Seems like good people (best choice in this race)

Educator and administrator; past Navarro Elementary PTO president; served on the district's bond steering committee

Has three young children who are or will be in Bryan ISD. Backs the district's 2-cent tax election, which he says would close deficits left by a lack of state funding.

Sources: Ballotpedia (candidate survey), League of Women Voters (Vote411)

Chris Cartwright

Not enough info

Says he has 30 years of business experience

Wants to review administrative costs, contracted services and purchasing before cutting anything that touches classrooms, and also backs the 2-cent tax election. Little public record beyond his questionnaire answers.

Sources: League of Women Voters (Vote411)

Bryan ISD Trustee, At-Large Place 6

No contest

Joel Bryan is unopposed.

Bryan, Proposition A (Texas Avenue medians)

Propositions

  • Prop A: Adds a section to the city charter requiring removal of the medians on Texas Avenue from Rosemary Drive to about 600 feet south of State Highway 21.
At an October candidate forum, council members and candidates said they would follow the voters' decision, and several raised the cost and emergency-response questions. Source: Community Impact.

Bryan ISD, Proposition A (tax rate election)

Propositions

  • Prop A: Ratifies a tax rate of $0.9668 per $100 of value, a 2.10% increase in maintenance and operations revenue (about $5.6 million more this year). The ballot labels it a tax increase.
A tax ratification election asks voters to approve a rate the school board already adopted.

Also on your ballot

Every Brazos County voter also picks in these races. Full write-ups on the Brazos County page.

When and where to vote

Register by
Monday, October 5 (passed). Check your registration at the Texas Secretary of State.
Early voting
October 19 to 30. October 19 to 23, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, October 24, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday, October 25, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; October 26 to 30, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Five sites, any of which you can use: the Election Administrator Office (300 E. Wm. J. Bryan Pkwy.), Arena Hall (2906 Tabor Rd.) and Galilee Baptist Church (804 N. Logan) in Bryan; the College Station Utilities Meeting & Training Facility (1603 Graham Rd.); and the Memorial Student Center, Room L526, on the Texas A&M campus. Details.
Election Day
Tuesday, November 3, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. You can vote at any Brazos County vote center. Locations.
Mail ballot
Only for voters 65 or older, sick or disabled, out of the county for all of early voting and Election Day, expecting to give birth near Election Day, or confined in jail. The county must receive your application by Friday, October 23, at 5 p.m. Details.
Bring
A Texas driver license or ID, election ID certificate, handgun license, passport, military ID or citizenship certificate with photo. No ID? You can still vote by signing a reasonable impediment form and showing a utility bill, bank statement or voter card. Details.
Your ballot
The county posts a combined sample ballot with every race in the county. Which city, school and district races you see depends on where you live.

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Last updated October 22, 2026.