For the first time in more than 100 years, the Boston City Council will be holding a special preliminary election today to fill the vacant District 9 seat representing Allston and Brighton.

The seat was previously held by Brian Honan, who died suddenly in August.

Nine candidates, seven of which will be eliminated in today’s preliminary elections, are vying for the seat. The two candidates with the most votes will advance to a final runoff election to be held Dec. 10.

Many Boston University students live in District 9 and will be directly affected by legislature passed by the new councilor, said Bob Imperato, who serves on the Board of Directors for the Allston Board of Trade. The Board of Trade has sponsored debates over the past few months to raise awareness among Allston-Brighton residents, especially students, about the upcoming elections.

‘This is the first time in over 100 years that a special election like this has happened in this city council,’ Imperato said.

Scheduled just one week after the divisive state gubernatorial elections, Imperato said he is worried the city council elections will ‘slip through the cracks,’ and said low voter turnout is not unlikely. However, Imperato said the candidates are divided on a number of issues, including those pertaining to the student population living in Allston-Brighton.

‘A lot of the candidates bring in the students as a quality-of-life question in Allston,’ Imperato said. ‘They may pass some legislature that could affect the students. If you don’t vote and someone gets elected who is anti-student, you have no one to blame but yourself.’

The candidates for District 9 are Mark David Trachtenberg, Mark S. Ciommo, Rosie Hanlon, John A. Bruno, Arturo Vasquez, Gary W. Dotterman, Dan McLaughlin, Jerry McDermott and Cathleen Campbell.

Imperato stressed students who are not yet registered to vote in the preliminary elections can still vote in the final elections if registered by Nov. 20.