Sarah Flint, a Roxbury resident of roughly 70 years, takes civic engagement very seriously, particularly in election years.

This year her focus is on one race in particular: who is going to represent her and the rest of District Seven, which comprises Roxbury, and parts of Dorchester, the South End, and Fenway, on the Boston City Council.

Who will win her support will depend on how they’ve served their community, she said, and how they plan to tackle her top priorities: public safety, the rising cost of housing, improving local schools, and support for seniors.

“I want to see what you’ve done,” Flint said. “I’m not going to vote for you if you’re not doing nothing to help me and my people.”

The District Seven contest is one of this year’s most consequential races, even as the city’s attention is largely focused on the showdown between Mayor Michelle Wu and her chief challenger, Josh Kraft. It’s the only open seat on the ballot, after former incumbent councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges and stepped down in July. It’s also drawn the most crowded field of candidates, with 11 people vying for the role.

Fernandes Anderson’s dramatic downfall grabbed headlines, but for voters living in the district, other issues — particularly housing affordability, creeping gentrification, resources for kids and schools, and the substance use crisis that’s spilled into their streets — are far more pressing, especially as voters decide who next to represent them.

“Roxbury always elects a fighter, so we’re looking for someone who’s going to be an advocate, a strong advocate who knows the issues,” said Armani White, a lifelong Roxbury resident and executive director of the nonprofit Reclaim Roxbury.

Said Abdikarim is one of two candidates who jumped into the race weeks before Fernandes Anderson’s indictment, in large part because he wanted to help fix the area’s housing crisis.

“I know the importance of housing,” said Abdikarim, who emphasizes his background as an immigrant from Somalia, and how he lived in at least four different public housing projects growing up in Boston. “I’m the oldest of 10, and as a family, we bounced around a lot looking for affordable housing that was big enough for the family.”

Abdikarim’s focus on the issue reflects what a dozen District Seven residents, including several civic leaders and political strategists, said: Housing affordability is a top concern in this race.

“My kids were born and raised in this community, and when they’ve grown up, went to college and came back, they still can’t afford to live here,” said Carole Montgomery, a Roxbury resident of 50 years who is also executive director of the nonprofit Roxbury Multi-Service Center.

While most residents said they have not yet decided whom to support, several expressed interest in two candidates who have experience in housing: Mavrick Afonso, who works for the state’s Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, and Miniard Culpepper, a well-known reverend and attorney who previously worked for the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.

In addition to Abdikarim, Afonso, and Culpepper, eight other candidates have qualified to appear on the September preliminary ballot: Said Ahmed, Wawa Bell, Tchad Cort, Samuel Hurtado, Natalie Juba-Sutherland, Jerome King, Shawn Nelson, and Roy Owens Sr.

Former interim mayor and District Seven councilor Kim Janey said she hopes whoever fills the seat will work on creating more affordable housing throughout Boston, not just concentrated in Roxbury.

“I want a thoughtful councilor who doesn’t just say, ‘We need more, more, more affordable housing,’ ” said Janey, who is currently the president and chief executive of the Boston-based nonprofit EMPath. “What we actually need is more mixed-income housing and more market-rate housing, at least for the square to be a thriving economic district. And more important in all of this, beyond the housing that we build, is what opportunities are we giving families to climb the economic ladder?”

Joyce Ferriabough Bolling, a veteran political strategist and Roxbury resident whose husband used to represent District Seven, said the challenge is balancing continued development in the community while also making sure longtime residents aren’t forced out.

“It feels vibrant,” she said. “It wasn’t too long ago, when people were thinking that the development was so stunted down in Dudley [Nubian] Square that it was going to be just a pass-through strip mall, and now you see so much development going on, so people are embracing that.”

But keeping housing affordable will require deep collaboration with other city councilors, as well as state representatives on Beacon Hill, Ferriabough Bolling said. Candidates who want the District Seven seat need to show they will be able to effectively work with all levels of government to pass legislation and secure funding for the area, which includes some of the most historically diverse and disenfranchised neighborhoods in the city, she said.

“With all the folks running, I don’t think any of them have ever held elected office,” she said. “I’d like to really hear some plans seriously. And I don’t mean like, ‘Oh, we need rent control.’ How do we get there?”

Several residents also said public safety is a top priority, particularly addressing the humanitarian crisis at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard. And many emphasized they want to see increased investment in their neighborhoods, including more resources for schools, small business support, and economic opportunities and job training for residents.

While constituents said Fernandes Anderson’s indictment was “disappointing” and “unfortunate,” many also said they approved of how she handled constituent services and community engagement.

They pointed to her creation of a District Seven advisory council, made up of neighborhood associations, nonprofits, and advocacy groups, that met regularly to talk about the district’s needs and how to address them.

Whoever succeeds her needs to continue that work, said Roxbury resident Laura Younger.

“That engagement of constituents in the process is what will ultimately change the power dynamics in the city,” Younger, 74, said.

As the election draws closer, the 11 candidates are courting constituents’ votes by distributing fliers and yard signs, door-knocking, and participating in a handful of forums hosted by neighborhood and advocacy groups.

White, of Reclaim Roxbury, said he’s glad to see so many candidates offer options to residents.

“People are just ready to see new leadership,” White said.

Others, though, worry that the multitude of choices presents a challenge for voters.

Some residents said they’re not familiar with any of the people running. Rosalyn Johnson, a 66-year-old lifelong Roxbury resident, said that personal engagement is important to her, but that so far, none of the candidates have come to her door. She doesn’t know who she’s going to vote for yet.

“That’s like me inviting a stranger into my house, and I don’t know anything about you,” Johnson said. “There’s a lot of events in the summertime. They should be out there selling themselves to the community, because that’s how we’re going to get to know you, and I haven’t seen a lot of candidates doing that.”

Ultimately, that grass-roots ground game is critical when it comes to driving voter turnout, which is historically low in local elections, said Malia Lazu, a Roxbury resident, longtime community organizer, and diversity and inclusion strategist. In Boston’s 2023 preliminary election, about 2,600 people cast ballots in District Seven.

“That’s the problem, right? . . . Someone who can turn folks out and make people pay attention again is something that’s really important,” Lazu said.

“District Seven is the heart of the city of Boston, and we’re very proud of that,” she continued. “District Seven deserves people asking for their vote, and I think we deserve someone who’s going to fight for us.”