At-large council member Mark Scott in his office, filming a Youtube.com video. Scott resigned four months before his final term ends, stating that it would enable him to run for mayor in 2018. Courtesy photo
An attorney will be hired to look into whether at-large council member Mark Scott’s resignation before the end of his term will legally allow him to run for mayor in 2018.
Scott resigned his position on the Corpus Christi City Council on Sept. 14 on the advice of an attorney, who said term limits would prevent him from running again if he didn’t. 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.
A heated discussion ensued at the Sept. 20 council meeting over the issue of whether Scott was circumventing the intent of the city’s term-limits ordinance.
“We need to look into this now, while it’s fresh,” said council member Carolyn Vaughn. “Term limits are in place for a reason.”
Council member Lucy Rubio seemed the most disturbed by the resignation, saying she had received several phone calls and read Facebook discussions from constituents who are unhappy with Scott’s move.
“Obviously, we have a loophole,” she said. “And I think that needs to be changed.”
At-large council member Chad Magill also called for clarity.
“I’ve gotten a number of calls myself,” he said. “This opens a lot of questions. I think it is important for the public to understand what is going on.”
Magill asked whether the charter language could be interpreted to mean a council member must remain a member until he or she is replaced. Since the council has no intention of appointing a replacement for the short interim between now and the Nov. 8 election when the seat will be filled by voters, that could squash the deal for Scott.
The motion made by Vaughn was approved unanimously. It called for the council to “hire outside legal counsel to investigate the validity of a resignation that attempts to subvert city term limits for the express purpose to run for office.”
