Harris County Commissioners Court voted unanimously to appoint Marcus Stuckett as the new executive director of the Harris County Flood Control District.
The Thursday appointment comes two weeks after former Executive Director Dr. Tina Petersen resigned on June 11 amid scrutiny over delays tied to federally funded flood mitigation projects and concerns about meeting spending deadlines.
Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones called the vote historic, noting Stuckett would be the first African American to serve in the role. County Judge Lina Hidalgo said the move reflects a bet that new leadership will mean clearer communication with both the court and residents and that she looks forward to working with Stuckett to get delayed projects back on track.
Briones said Stuckett brings more than two decades of experience delivering major flood control projects in the region and is positioned to lead the district through a critical period, adding that nothing matters more than protecting families from flooding.
Stuckett previously held several leadership roles at the Flood Control District, including engineering division director and watershed management department manager, before leaving the agency in 2022 to work in the private sector.
Stuckett’s background with the district included project manager and liaison to the Harris County Engineering Department, and he holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Mississippi. After leaving the district, he joined Pape-Dawson Engineers as associate vice president, where a company announcement credited him with 19 years of civil engineering experience focused on water resources.
Not every commissioner offered unqualified praise for the process. Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia said members of the court who bypassed a nationwide search put Stuckett in a difficult position given looming General Land Office deadlines, but said too much is at risk not to support his success.
The leadership change comes as Harris County works through a historic number of flood mitigation projects while facing pressure tied to Hurricane Harvey recovery funding deadlines. Briones said the county has made unprecedented investments in infrastructure maintenance and must keep working with federal, state, and community partners to deliver projects that protect homes and reduce flood risk.
Petersen’s resignation followed closed-session discussions among commissioners about her job performance. The controversy centered on the district’s handling of federal Hurricane Harvey recovery grants tied to hard spending deadlines, with Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham having warned the county it was at risk of losing nearly $1 billion in federal flood mitigation funding due to high staff turnover, grant documentation problems, and compliance failures. The General Land Office administers those funds.
At issue were 28 Harvey recovery projects funded through HUD money routed through the GLO, 11 of which faced a February 2027 deadline that six were expected to miss. The district had proposed restructuring funding by shifting slower-moving projects into a mitigation program with an April 2028 cutoff, while redirecting disaster recovery dollars toward projects that could finish before the earlier deadline, a plan that also expanded the total project list from 28 to 36 without reducing the scope of any project.
Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey had said at the time that the restructuring plan came too late and that the county needed leadership that would deliver, while Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis questioned publicly why a plan had not been developed sooner.
Buckingham pushed back on the political fallout surrounding Petersen’s exit, telling Hidalgo that the county needed shovels, not scapegoats, and cautioning against turning the matter into a political exercise.
In a statement following Thursday’s vote, Stuckett said he was honored by the confidence the commissioners court and County Administrator David Berry placed in him. He also pointed to the Flood Control District’s history of protecting residents through engineering, partnerships, and stewardship of public resources. He said he looks forward to working with district employees, community partners, and elected officials to continue reducing flood risk and improving quality of life for Harris County residents.
