David Hagen and Brian Staska have survived the primary election as the top two candidates for the Austin City Council Ward 2 seat.

Hagen had 259 votes while Staska earned 143 votes in the ward’s two precincts. Marvin Repinski, a retired Methodist pastor, earned 38 votes and Alex Mayfield, a former city council candidate, earned 25. Mayfield ran in 2012 and lost against Council Member Janet Anderson.

Hagen said Tuesday night it was a good feeling to have captured 55 percent of the votes and vowed to help serve the city if elected.

“I live, eat and breathe Austin, so I’m looking forward to looking toward the election in November,” he said.

Staska was also excited, but he also vowed to pick up his campaign efforts in the coming months.

“I’ve got a lot of work to do,” he said. “Getting second place just means I have to work real hard to try and get first.”

Hagen is an Austin native who has been active in several local groups, including the Austin Jaycees, Pheasants Forever, American Legion, Austin Area Commission for the Arts and more. He works at KSMQ Public Television in underwriting and development. He has heard interest from residents about some of the larger projects in Austin — Vision 2020’s Community Rec Center proposal and the Hormel Institute expansion, among others — but said he would likely wait and reserve judgment on issues if he was elected until he got a sense for city politics.

“The first thing you need to do is listen for six months [if elected],” he said. “I don’t want to give a strong opinion yet, because I want to hear all sides. I will have the networking ability to find out everything I need to know before I go forward.”

Staska has been a firefighter for almost 30 years and also works as an instructor at Riverland Community College. If elected, Staska would like to find more ways to get businesses to Austin, as well as more youth-oriented activities. That’s what residents are asking him about, as well.

“They kind of just all agree that we need some changes, we need some businesses, we need to keep businesses in our community,” he said. “Those with families agree that we need more things for our kids.”

He also supports the city’s housing initiatives, from rental housing discussions to more attention on planning and zoning.

The Ward 2 seat is vacant after Council Member Roger Boughton announced in May he would not seek re-election.

Primary results: Austin City Council, Ward 2

*David Hagen: 259 votes, 55.7 pct.

*Brian Staska: 143 votes, 30.7 pct.

Marvin Repinski: 38 votes, 8.2 pct.

Alex Mayfield: 25 votes, 5.4 pct.

*Hagen, Staska move on to November election