It was a race to the finish line for potential Colorado Springs candidates vying to get their names on the city’s April ballot.

With a half-hour to go before the 5 p.m. filing deadline Wednesday, Nick Lee anxiously waited in the City Clerk’s Office to see if he had enough signatures to run for an at-large council seat.

About 15 minutes before the cutoff, the university instructor and business owner was told he did not have the necessary 100 signatures from registered voters. Lee dashed out of the office hoping to make the deadline but was too late and did not return.

Moses Humes’ potential bid for mayor ended in similar fashion. Humes stormed inside the clerk’s office clutching his paperwork, but his packet was not complete. Despite pleading to the city clerk, Humes was not allowed to file. He left the office seething.

Three minutes before the deadline, Mike Makinney, representing self-employed real estate broker Justine Herring, ran into the clerk’s office huffing and puffing with a collection of extra signatures in his hand. As of Wednesday night, City Clerk Sarah Johnson said she still was verifying signatures to see if Herring made the cut.

Herring, 48, made headlines in January when she was arrested and charged with menacing after police said she waved an AR-15 rifle at a man and claimed to be a federal law officer during an incident in Memorial Park. Herring could not be reached Wednesday for comment.

“I know she has a different personality,” Makinney said. “But she has the right to run.”

Meanwhile, six other candidates made the deadline to run for mayor, including Tony Carpenter, who has run unsuccessfully for City Council or mayor five times since 2003.

In April, voters will elect a new mayor and three at-large council members. Voters in District 2 will elect someone to take the place of Joel Miller, who resigned his seat in November to run for mayor. And voters in District 4 will decide whether to recall Councilwoman Helen Collins. She has one challenger, Myron Pierce, lead pastor at Passion City Church. Pierce could not be reached for comment.

In District 2, Larry Bagley, a retired military officer who was appointed to the City Council until the election, and Kanda Calef, co-founder of the Business Chamber of Southern Colorado, will face off for the remaining two years of Miller’s term.

The dozen at-large candidates include Yolanda Avila, a retired criminal defense investigator who is legally blind. She grew up in the Springs but as a young adult lived in California, where public transportation was accessible to disabled residents, she said. She moved back to Colorado Springs nine years ago and found a lacking transportation system, she said. Avila, 59, said transportation is a top priority for her and the city needs to increase its transit funding to the level promised to voters in the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority program. The city was short by at least $1.8 million annually from 2010 to 2014.

“Something has to be done,” she said.

Merv Bennett, 66, is the only incumbent running for an at-large seat. Councilwoman Jan Martin is term limited, and Councilman Val Snider is not seeking re-election. Bennett said he wants to run again to help continue the city’s transition to a strong mayor form of government and was happy to hear that so many other candidates decided to run. By being on the council now, Bennett said he is aware of the demands that are ahead for those elected.

“You’ve got to be personally pretty passionate about our city to run, and I appreciate the people who are,” he said.

Vanessa Bowie, 36, pointed to a need for better communication between council members and the mayor as a reason she is running. Bowie, who recently earned a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, also said she wants to learn more about the City for Champions project because she is unsure if it is the “right project for the city.” While she has never served in public office, Bowie said she is ready for the campaign.

“I just really want to serve the people, and I feel like this is a great time to do so,” she said.

In addition to better collaboration, 45-year-old Longinos Gonzalez Jr. said he is running to refocus the council’s priorities so the members make what he calls “common-sense budget planning” decisions. Gonzalez, a substitute high school and middle school teacher, said he got inspired to run after pouring over the city budget over the holidays. Since turning in his paperwork, he has met hundreds of potential voters, he said.

“I’m glad to be getting their feedback,” Gonzalez said.

At-large candidate Bill Murray has spent a lot of time at council meetings arguing issues.

“What it comes down to is I want to synergize the ability for our community to come to closure on a number of issues,” said Murray, who is retired from the military.

Murray was among the District 2 candidates in 2013 but stepped out of the race and endorsed Miller. Murray says there is a lack of dialogue with citizens and he often wonders how council members make conclusions without input from citizens.

At-large council members need to host monthly night meetings to talk to people and find out what’s on their minds, he said.

“I’m talking about true dialogue, not one-way conversations,” he said.

Tom Strand, 66, said he would like to bring better collaboration between the council and a new mayor. Strand, who is retired, said he also wants a focus on attracting and retaining young people in the community.

“We’re all going to be in walkers if we don’t grow this city in the next 10 years,” he said.

Strand also said an emphasis on infrastructure projects is necessary to better the city for the future.

“If we don’t do anything, this whole place is going to crumble around us.”

Vickie Tonkins, a University of Phoenix professor and co-founder of Destiny Project athletic program for children, said in January when she picked up her candidate’s packet that she wants to ensure that elected officials remember that they “work for the people.”

Jariah Walker, 37, ran unsuccessfully for El Paso County Commission in District 5 in November and said he thought long and hard about running for an at-large City Council seat.

“I knew we made inroads with the last campaign,” he said. “We inspired a lot of dialogue . it would be a shame to not continue the conversations we had.”

Walker, who owns Walker Asset Management Realty, said chief among his concerns is the political discord in City Hall.

“My strategy is having conversations and inspiring dialogue. We have to work together.”

Joe Woyte, 40, a defense contracts representative, was encouraged by his friends to run for council after numerous discussions about city government and local politics.

“The biggest single issue is City for Champions,” he said. “I don’t like the way it’s being approached. It appears certain people are trying to push it through, regardless of whether people want it. I feel like somebody has to speak for the people.”

Jesse Brown Jr., Glenn Carlson and Al Loma, who are running for council, could not be reached for comment.