Former at-large council member Mark Scott officially files at city hall to run for Corpus Christi mayor in the May 6 special election. Courtesy photo
Mark Scott plans to meet with lawyers and supporters Tuesday, March 14, to decide on the next steps in his campaign to be Corpus Christi’s next mayor after yet another no-vote from the city council. Six of the eight remaining members of the normally nine-member council declared Scott ineligible — yet again — to run for mayor based on the city’s term-limits ordinance. The vote was during a specially called meeting March 10 and after an almost five-hour executive session with the third attorney hired to render an opinion on the matter.
Scott called the move “lawyer shopping.”
“I am running because the first lawyer they hired said I was eligible,” Scott told Corpus Christi Business News. “I don’t know what else there is for a citizen to do. You want to run, they hire a lawyer, he says you’re eligible, there you have it. I did not expect the council to lawyer shop.”
This marks the third anti-Scott-candidacy vote since the fall, when Scott announced he was resigning as at-large council member a few months short of what would have been his final term. He said he was quitting so he would be eligible to run for mayor in 2018, a two-year wait.
At the time, several council members voiced their displeasure at the move, especially Carolyn Vaughn, who represents District 1. She made a motion that was approved by the rest of the council to reprimand Scott for his actions, calling it a move to circumvent the will of the people who voted for term limits. They had also hired an attorney to look into the matter, but he came back stating that Scott was eligible after all because when he was elected in 2012, that two-year term was shorted to 18 months when the election was moved from spring to November. The city charter specifies that a full term is two years.
The issue settled down until newly elected Mayor Dan McQueen resigned his position only 37 days into the office. That set the stage for a special election, which the the council called for May 6. So far, eight candidates have declared their interest in running, including Scott.
Now acting as mayor pro-tem, Vaughn put a vague item about the special election on the council’s agenda for its regular meeting March 7. She brought in a second lawyer, someone she paid herself, to render another opinion. This attorney said Scott was not eligible to run because term of office should be interpreted by election cycles and not specific numbers of months or years.
The council drew some criticism for its handling of the March 7 meeting, some saying the vote was a violation of the Open Meetings Act because the agenda did not mention Scott’s name. That’s when the council called a special meeting for March 10 and hired a third lawyer.
Charles Williams of Olson and Olson LLP of Houston met with the council behind closed doors for the almost five-hour executive session. The council reconvened in open session, heard one public comment against Scott’s candidacy, then voted without commenting themselves on a resolution instructing city secretary Rebecca Huerta to declare him ineligible.
No explanation was given for the vote or why this third attorney said Scott was ineligible. Scott said he didn’t know either.
“I am in the same position everybody else is: I have no idea what the council said. They decided not to share that,” Scott said. “I understand they are saying they can’t release the information because of potential litigation. If they have a strong case, I’d sure loved to know it.”
Scott has already filed for office at city hall, turning in his papers as media and supporters looked on March 6.
He told the Business News he is getting a lot of public support for his bid for mayor.
“Inside city hall: toxic politics,” he said. “Outside city hall: affirmation, encouragement and approval. I have a really good campaign. I believe in my heart I’ll win, and I think I will be good for the community. I just have to get past city council.”
Voting for the resolution were Vaughn, Paulette Guarjdo, Michael Hunter, Ben Molina, Lucy Rubio and Greg Smith. Neither Rudy Garza Jr. nor Joe McComb attended the special meeting. Also a candidate for mayor, McComb said he would not participate in any agenda item concerning Scott.
