The candidates for College Station city council who will go to a runoff plan to be busy over the next month getting the word out about why they deserve to serve.

Incumbent Lynn McIlhaney got the most votes -- 49 percent of them -- when they were all counted Saturday, but the Place 4 candidate wasn't able to get a majority needed to win the seat.

Now, political newcomer Katy-Marie Lyles and McIlhaney will face off in a runoff. Lyles got 43 percent last night, and is well within striking distance for the June 14 vote.

McIlhaney said her plan was "to meet with the citizens in the community and answer any questions or any concerns that they have and make sure that I articulate why this is so important, and that this is the future of our community."

Lyles said her strong showing likely caught people off guard.

"I think everyone was really shocked," she said. "I think a lot of people, especially those who don't know me, completely under-estimated this. No one thought a nobody, a young adult in this town, could step in and be close to an incumbent, and I have. That's because people believe in me."

A third person on the ballot for Place 4, Doug Cummings, pulled in the remaining votes Saturday.

McIlhaney has spent most of the last two-and-a-half decades serving in an elected role in College Station. She is a former College Station mayor, and is currently mayor pro tem.

Lyles works at A&M United Methodist Church as the director of college ministries there.