Incumbent Mayor Bill Bell faces three challengers in his quest for a sixth consecutive two-year term, including current County Commissioner Joe Bowser.

Eight candidates, including two incumbents, have their names in for three at-large Council seats.

Voters will weed out four of the 12 in a primary election Oct. 11; one-stop voting opens Sept. 22.

The two leading candidates for mayor and the six top voter-getters for City Council will face off in the general election Nov. 8.

Here are the contenders:

For mayor

Bill Bell - Durham's mayor since 2001, Bell previously served for 26 years on the Durham County Board of Commissioners, 12 of them as its chairman. He retired as an electrical engineer with IBM in 1996, since then he has been executive vice president of the nonprofit UDI/Community Development Corp.

Joe Bowser - Elected to the county Board of Commissioners in 1996, Bowser lost a re-election bid in 2004 but returned in 2008, finishing fourth in a field of 10 for one of five seats. He is a retired agent with the Norfolk Southern Railroad.

Ralph McKinney - A retired salesman, McKinney is making his fourth run for mayor. His previous tries, in 2001, 1999 and 1997, were unsuccessful. He has also run unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate and House.

Sylvester Williams - Pastor of the Assembly at Durham Christian Center, Williams ran unsuccessfully for City Council in 2009.

For City Council at-large

Alice Bailey - An evangelist and founder of Outreach Ministry Restore in Durham, Bailey is making her first run for elective office.

Eugene Brown - A council member since 2004, Brown owns the Distinguished Properties real-estate firm.

Solomon Burnette - A self-employed specialty bookseller, Burnette is making his first run for elective office.

Diane Catotti - A council member since 2004, Catotti is a health-policy consultant.

Donald Hughes - A member of the Durham Workforce Development Board, Hughes ran unsuccessfully for City Council in 2009 and for Durham school board in 2010.

Victoria Peterson - Director of the vocational training nonprofit Triangle Citizens Rebuilding Communities, Peterson has run, unsuccessfully, for City Council in 2003, 2005 and 2007 and for the county board of commissioners in 2008.

Steve Schewel - A member of the Durham school board 2003-07, Schewel is president of Carolina Independent Publications, parent company of The Independent Weekly newspaper.

John Tarantino - An unsuccessful candidate for City Council in 2009 and for the school board and state Senate in 2010, Tarantino describes himself as "retired military."