Incumbents in Toledo City Council Districts 1, 4, and 6 each face two challengers in the city’s Sept. 15 primary election.

In all three races, endorsed Democrats who have won election before are facing opponents who either have never run or who have run and been defeated. The top two finishers in each district primary will advance to the Nov. 3 general election.

Candidates are running for a four-year term on the 12-member council. This year’s elections on Sept. 15 and Nov. 3 are only for the six district councilmen; at-large council members are up in two years.

In District 4, newly elected Councilman Yvonne Harper, the endorsed Democrat, faces fellow Democrat Peggy Brown-Morehead and Republican Robert Longoria.

District 4 stretches from North Toledo to include downtown, the Old West End, and neighborhoods on both sides of Nebraska Avenue.

Ms. Harper, 66, of 2337 Franklin Ave., is a retired Toledo Municipal Court bailiff. She said some voters are surprised to see her again asking for their vote. She was elected on May 5 in a special election to replace Paula Hicks-Hudson, the former District 4 representative who was elevated to mayor upon the death of Mayor D. Michael Collins on Feb. 6.

“I’ve been walking neighborhoods, talking to people, introducing myself as the District 4 councilman. They didn’t know why I was still on the ballot,” Ms. Harper said.

The new councilman said she has made it a point to talk to neighbors in person about controversial issues, such as an application for a permit for a used-car dealership at 2485 N. Detroit Ave. Her sense that neighbors approved of the project justified issuing the permit, which was against the recommendation of the Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commission, she said.

“They’d rather have something there than nothing at all,” Ms. Harper said. She also initiated an alley cleanup that reminded property owners of their responsibility and made the alleys safer.

Ms. Brown-Morehead said she is a lifelong resident who would maintain contact with the neighborhood groups in the district.

“District 4 is the most unique of all the districts. It is the most historic. The Old West End has some of the most beautiful homes and the residents work together to maintain them, and I’m committed to work with the residents in the area,” she said. She also highlighted the young professionals living downtown and the many apartment buildings and housing complexes for the elderly, disabled, and lower-income.

Ms. Brown-Morehead, 59, 524 North St., is a former employee of Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center. She was a member of the Warren-Sherman Community Development Corp.

Mr. Longoria of 241 16th St., Apt. 907, could not be reached for comment.

In District 6, incumbent Democrat Lindsay Webb is being challenged by two Republicans, Bill Delaney, who is the Republican State Central Committee member from Ohio’s 11th Senate District, and Alex Rivera.

District 6 is the northeast corner of Toledo, stretching from Point Place to Tremainsville Road.

Ms. Webb, 40, 2163 Chalmette Dr., has a law degree from the University of Toledo, where she is a part-time instructor in the school of interdisciplinary studies. She is teaching courses in sociology.

Ms. Webb was elected to council in 2007 and 2011 and is seeking a third and final term.

As chairman of council’s public utilities committee, she said she has tried to provide leadership in modernizing the Department of Public Utilities, which processes the drinking water that most people in metro Toledo use.

“Given the current needs of the system and the climate in the community, I think we would be foolish not to engage in meaningful conversations about regionalizing our water system,” Ms. Webb said.

She said she is active on social media and keeps in touch with constituents through  a network of Facebook pages maintained by the various communities in her district.

Seeking to replace her is Mr. Delaney, the longtime former owner of Delaney’s Lounge on Alexis Road.

Mr. Delaney, 74, 2016 Bucklew Dr., became active in local government as an opponent to the city smoking ban under Mayor Jack Ford. In 2014, he defeated Lucas County Republican Chairman Jon Stainbrook to represent the Senate district in the state GOP central committee.

He ran unsuccessfully for an at-large council seat in 2013.

“This council has overspent since I’ve been coming down here and [attending] these meetings for 18 years. I see the money going out with no accounting. We need streets. We need sewers. We need the blight cleaned up,” Mr. Delaney said.

He said the city should not oppose Kroger’s effort to acquire property belonging to Sisters of Notre Dame at Secor Road and Monroe Street.

“The Sisters of Notre Dame need the money. Kroger has the money. Stay the hell out of business,” Mr. Delaney said.

Mr. Rivera, 40, of 1642 Brooke Park Dr. Apt.2, said he wants to be a hands-on councilman to help restore endangered American values.

A former private security guard, Mr. Rivera is a home remodeler for investors, with about 100 homes to his credit, most of them in Toledo’s central city. He said he has put his business on hold to run for council.

He is a graduate of Waite High School and learned basic emergency medicine from the city of Oregon. Mr. Rivera studied political science at the University of Toledo and hopes to finish a degree.

“I would like to see more police officers and a juvenile division in the police department.I want to be hands-on in the community. You’ll see me working with the block watches, with the youth,” Mr. Rivera said. He said his interest in youth is to preserve American traditions that he said are under attack from a progressive agenda.

He said solving the problems of the city water system is paramount and said the city faces the loss of $100 million if other communities break off and form their own water distribution system.

Mr. Rivera attempted to run for council in 2013 but fell short of the necessary number of signatures on his petition.

In District 1, Democrat Tyrone Riley is seeking re-election against unendorsed Democrat Jennifer Scott and Republican Darryl Fingers. The district includes neighborhoods in Central and West Toledo, near Toledo Hospital and south of the University of Toledo.

Mr. Riley is seeking a second full term. He was elected in 2011, succeeding Wilma Brown who was prohibited from running again by city charter term limits.

Mr. Riley, 59, of 629 Searles Rd., an attorney in private practice, was a legislative aide to the late state Rep. Casey Jones (D., Toledo). He said he got his motto from Mr. Jones: “hard work and serving the people you represent with honor and distinction.”

Mr. Riley has a bachelor’s degree from Kent State University and a law degree from the Southern University law school in Baton Rouge, La.

Mr. Fingers, 59, of 3019 Nebraska Ave., Lot #32, is an airplane mechanic now on disability. He graduated from Macomber High School and attended the University of Toledo. Mr. Fingers ran unsuccessfully for the same open seat in 2011 and for Toledo school board in 2013. He said he wants to inject new energy into council.

“There’s some things that we are not accomplishing at City Council. It frustrates me how little gets done in politics and government,” Mr. Fingers said.

Ms. Scott, 54, of 3204 Dolores Ave., said she found out — after getting bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science and public administration from Bowling Green State University and the University of Toledo, respectively — that she has politics in her blood. Her great-great-great grandfather was Hiram Revels, the first black U.S. senator, who served in Mississippi from 1870 to 1871.

She is a member of the Toledo Police Civilian Review Board. She was the mayor’s representative to the citywide Block Watch program until her decision to run for council.

Ms. Scott said she has a post-baccalaureate certificate in legal assistance but is off work because of disability.

“This district needs somebody who is dedicated to making sure the problems are solved and being available for getting the job done,” Ms. Scott said.

Contact Tom Troy: tomtroy@theblade.com or 419-724-6058 or on Twitter @TomFTroy.

First Published September 6, 2015, 4:00 a.m.