Voters go to the polls Tuesday to elect a new Port Arthur city council member.

Charlotte Moses and Reginald Trainer are the two candidates on the special runoff election ballot. Both are seeking the at-large Position 7 seat left open when Councilman Derrick Freeman announced plans to run of the city’s mayoral position in May.

Both are urging voters to go to the polls, no matter who they cast their ballot for.

Early voting concluded for the special election Friday with 1,060 casting their votes prior to Election Day.

That number is 330 votes less than the 1,390 voting early during the November general election.

Moses, 52, is owner of Global Drug and Alcohol, a company that performs drug testing for various businesses.

She is executive pastor of Christian Faith Missionary Baptist Church in Port Arthur, and served on the city’s Economic Development Board until she resigned after filing for the Council seat.

Moses has said her experience as a former city of Port Arthur employee will bring a unique perspective to the Council. She has worked in the city’s human resources department from 1988 to 2006.

Moses said the Council should strive to work more in unison while leading the city.

Her campaign during the runoff election has been going strong, but will not wind up until 7 p.m. Tuesday, she said.

“My campaign has been going really good. A lot of people are working, they are calling. We are working hard, so I cannot ask for anything more than that,” she said.

Moses said while she is satisfied with how her campaign is going, the number of people who have voted early concern her.

“The citizens of Port Arthur need to make their voices heard. There are so many that have not cast their ballots and I can only hope they will do so on Election Day Tuesday,” Moses said.

Trainer, 57, is owner of Trainer Lock and Key, a business that has been in operation for 14 years.

If elected, Trainer said he plans to concentrate on the need to improve city streets and infrastructure and do what he can to attract more jobs to the city for Port Arthur residents.

The city needs to bring its cultures together as one to create a more unified Port Arthur, Trainer said.

His campaign, he said, is going good.

“Going into the last few days we’ve been following up on phone calls, going door-to-door and telephoning people. We’ve been out meeting and greeting people, going to stores, anywhere there are people,” he said.

Since his campaign first started, Trainer said he can tell people are doing more listening now.

“I can see the difference in their attitudes. I do bring a lot to the table,” he said.

People do need to get out and vote, Trainer said. “Go out and vote, please go out and vote.”

E-mail: sherry.koonce@panew.com

Twitter: skooncePANews