Longtime City Council Member Announces Resignation

CORPUS CHRISTI, TX - At-Large Council Member Rudy Garza, Jr. who has served on the City Council for eight-years announced Tuesday he is resigning to assume a public service role in education. Councilman Garza has been chosen to fill the Del Mar Board of Regents District 1 seat after the death of Board of Regents member Gabriel Rivas III.

Councilman Garza intends to submit his resignation to the City Secretary in October. City Council will consider his resignation on Tuesday, October 13 during its Council meeting. Councilman Garza will be sworn in to the Del Mar Board of Regents Tuesday, October 13 for a term that will run through 2024.

“It gives me a chance to be able to contribute to a higher education institution,” said Councilman Garza.

“I am looking forward to the challenge and contributing to my alma mater which will be gratifying to me,” Garza said.

Councilman Garza was first elected to the City Council in November 2012 representing District 5, a position to which he was re-elected twice, once in November 2014 and again in November 2016. In November 2018, Council Member Garza was elected to one of three at-large seats on the City Council.

Council Member Garza serves as the Chairperson of the City Council’s Municipal Court Committee and the Corpus Christi Housing Finance Corporation.

In addition, he serves on the Corpus Christi Regional Economic Development Corporation, TIRZ No. 2, 3, 4, the Corpus Christi Community Improvement Corporation, the Corpus Christi Industrial Development Corporation, and the North Padre Island Corporation.

“It’s been my pleasure to serve the City and work with Council for about 18 years now as a Council Member and in other impactful roles. I have certainly enjoyed serving with all the Council Members over that time period. I can’t think of any time that I felt that a sitting Council Member wasn’t working to try and do what was best for the community,” Garza said.

Looking back, Councilman Garza is most proud of working with the Council to secure funding for the new Harbor Bridge and the jobs that the project has brought to the area. He also mentions the great progress the city has made in the downtown area, including The Waters Edge Park and the Shoreline Drive Realignment project. Councilman Garza has been a strong supporter of the City’s police and firefighters and advocating for resources to allow them to adequately respond to emergencies to preserve life, property, and protect the community.