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
The city of Corpus Christi’s ethics commission cleared retiring at-large council member Mark Scott of any ethics violations based on his quitting the council in September. Scott turned in his resignation before the end of his final term so he would be eligible to run for mayor in 2018. Finishing his term would have fallen under a term limits ordinance, requiring him to wait six years to run for another city office.
The vote was 5-0 to dismiss the complaint with member Larry White abstaining and member Ricky Milby recusing himself.
The ethics complaint was filled by Corpus Christi resident Alan Guggenheim, who told reporters he was unhappy with the decision, calling the ethics commission decision “unethical.”
Although Scott resigned in September, he returned when an outside lawyer hired by the council to look into the matter reported that Scott was considered a member of the council until replaced. Since the council had no intention of replacing him with the November election looming, it was believed Scott would not be eligible to run.
Another caveat existed, however. Because of a change in election dates in 2012, Scott had not served a full two-year term and was therefore eligible to run again in two years.
An item to impeach Scott for missing five consecutive meetings while this back-and-forth was carried out over the weeks since his resignation drew some heated discussion — without Scott in the room.
Council member Carolyn Vaughn of District 1 made a motion to impeach but withdrew it after city attorney Miles Risley informed the council there was not enough time to carry out the process before his term ended.
Scott returned to the council dais to finish the meeting, which was his last, along with four other members of the council, including Mayor Nelda Martinez.
