SAN DIEGO -- A special election will be held in San Diego's 4th district Tuesday, when residents will choose a replacement for Councilman Charles Lewis, who died in August.

Eight candidates are running to fill Lewis' seat on the council. If no candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote, a runoff election between the two candidates with the most votes will be held Jan. 4.

The 4th District's 66 polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Lewis died Aug. 8 from internal bleeding brought on by cirrhosis of the liver and other problems. He also suffered from hypertension, pancreatitis and gastritis.

Since Lewis' death, his chief of staff, Anthony Young, has been in charge of the District Four office.

Lewis was chief of staff to former Councilman George Stevens before being elected to the City Council in 2002.

His council tenure was marred in May 2003, when a federal bribery investigation targeting him and fellow Councilmen Michael Zucchet and Ralph Inzunza became public after FBI agents searched City Hall and strip clubs in San Diego and Las Vegas.

The three were subsequently indicted Aug. 28, 2003 on charges that they schemed to repeal an ordinance prohibiting touching in strip clubs in exchange for money and favors.

Charges were dropped against Lewis after his death. A federal trial for Zucchet and Inzunza is scheduled to begin May 3 and is expected to last three months.

Along with Young and Stevens, candidates in the District Four council race include businesswoman Marissa Acierto, educator Dwayne Crenshaw, community newspaper publisher Patrick DeShields, water treatment plant operator James Galley, real estate broker Gloria Tyler-Mallery, and Bruce Williams, who is director of community affairs for Mayor Dick Murphy.