Former city council member Mark Scott says he intends to run for mayor despite a 6-1 vote by the city council to disqualify him from the race. Courtesy photo
At-large council member Mark Scott resigned his position on the Corpus Christi city council Wednesday, saying it was necessary because he wants to run for mayor in 2018. Scott was in his 10th year on the council, having been elected to five two-year terms. He is not on the Nov. 8 ballot for re-election because of term limits.
“I have recently been made aware of a City Charter provision that requires me to resign from City Council to protect my effort to run for Mayor in 2018," Scott said in a publicly released statement. "After consulting with local City legal expert John Bell, I have decided to heed his counsel that I resign in order to be eligible as a candidate in 2018. As such, I will be resigning from my city council position effective at 5 p.m. today [Sept. 14]. Again, I am doing what I 'have to do' in order to do 'what I want to do,' which is be our city’s mayor in 2018."
Mayor Nelda Martinez is seeking her final term as mayor this year. If re-elected in November, she will not be eligible to run again in 2018. She is opposed this year by Dan McQueen, who also ran against her in 2014.
An active member of the community, Scott says he plans to continue his involvement in public affairs.
“I intend to remain involved in projects that I believe are important to Corpus Christi’s future including military affairs, water planning and economic development," Scott said in his statement. "I have been passionately committed to pro-growth initiatives and am proud of the accomplishments during my tenure in office. I am also passionate about solving the city’s problems and have always worked toward solutions that address those problems head on."
Scott said he planned to spend the next several months meeting with different people throughout the city to discuss his plans for the 2018 election.
“Thank you to all who have supported me during my tenure as a councilmember," he said. "Thank you to the voters for giving me the opportunity to serve. And thank you to the many, many supporters who have urged me to run for Mayor. With your help and support, I look forward to the campaign ahead.”
Scott is President of San Jacinto Title Services in the Coastal Bend Region, managing operations and business development for the company — the largest locally owned title company in the region.
He began his council tenure as a representative for District 4, which includes Flour Bluff and Padre Island. District 4 also runs along Ocean Drive to downtown. During his 10 years on the council he has served as chair of the city’s Administrative Committee and president of the Corpus Christi Housing Finance Corporation.
He has also served on a variety of committees at the Texas Municipal League, the National League of Cities and the Coastal Bend Council of Governments. He was board secretary for Tex21, a statewide transportation coalition, and a board member for the Alliance for Interstate 69 Texas and the Coastal Bend Regional Water Planning Group. He has also been a member of the Regional Leaders Forum, Corpus Christi Rotary Club and the Corpus Christi Mustangs.
Community services includes time as president of the Leadership Corpus Christi Alumni, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Nueces County, 4UCC and the Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Alumni Association. He is currently a trustee for the Art Museum of South Texas.
Honors include being named Citizen of the Year ini 2006 by the Beautify Corpus Christi Association, receiving the Leadership Corpus Christi Association Alumni of the Year award in 2000 and top volunteer for the Volunteer Center of the Coastal Bend in 2004.
Scott has a Bachelors of Business Administration from Texas A&M University-Kingsville and a Masters of Business from Corpus Christi State University.
