Mark Scott
Mark Scott – Candidate for City Council At-Large
Some background: My brother is gay. He is in a same sex marriage. We love his husband. Most importantly, my brother is the finest human I have ever known….
How do you plan to ensure fair treatment and equal opportunities for all citizens, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity?
I believe I have a history of working to ensure fail treatment and equal opportunities to anyone/everyone. I would carry that philosophy forward if elected.
What is your position on the local government’s role in protecting LGBTQ+ individuals from discrimination?
I believe I have a history of working to ensure local government is active and supportive of LGBTQ+ individuals. I believe the city should work to protect everyone’s dignity.
How would you promote initiatives or policies that support diversity and inclusivity across Corpus Christi?
I believe we should work to support/hire/promote the best people for a position or job regardless of any particular defining groups.
In addition, we would like to know your thoughts on the current situation with the Corpus Christi Public Library advisory board, which has proposed removing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) principles from the library’s collection development policy. Many residents are concerned about the potential impact this could have on ensuring our public libraries represent the diverse needs of our community.
I appreciate the Library Board’s advisory status and appreciate the lively debates. I also appreciate the library staff’s ability to adopt or reject any recommendations. I find the debate interesting. We already have controls. It is not like we don’t. We currently have controls to keep some books from the young adult section. The debate is about “moving the needle” on what is allowed in the youth section. I think some people get lost in that. That said, I think the library should be as inclusive as possible in allowing as much access as possible. I also think there should be some mechanism allowing parents to know what their children are checking out. My hope is that all this discourse will lead to higher library usage.