Harris County Commissioners Court is expected to name a former district engineer as the next executive director of the Harris County Flood Control District when it meets June 25.
The likely appointee is Marcus Stuckett, a licensed professional engineer and certified floodplain manager who spent years at the Flood Control District before leaving in 2022. During his time there, Stuckett served in several capacities, including engineering division director, watershed management department manager, project manager, and liaison to the Harris County Engineering Department.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Mississippi. After leaving the district, Stuckett joined Pape-Dawson Engineers as associate vice president, a company announcement noted he had 19 years of civil engineering experience focused on water resources. Colleagues describe him as an expert in hydraulic engineering with pre-existing knowledge of the projects currently at stake, the obstacles they face, and the personnel responsible for carrying them out.
Stuckett would replace Dr. Tina Petersen, who resigned June 11 after commissioners discussed her job performance in closed session on more than one occasion. The immediate controversy surrounding her departure centered on the district’s handling of federal Hurricane Harvey recovery grants tied to hard spending deadlines.
Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham had warned Harris County that the county was at risk of losing nearly $1 billion in federal flood mitigation funding, citing high staff turnover, problems with grant documentation, and compliance failures at the district. The GLO administers those federal dollars.
At issue are 28 Harvey recovery projects funded by HUD money routed through the Texas General Land Office. Eleven disaster recovery projects face a February 2027 deadline, and six of the projects were expected to miss it. The district’s proposed solution is a funding restructuring: moving projects likely to miss the earlier deadline into a mitigation program with an April 2028 cutoff while redirecting disaster recovery dollars to faster-moving projects that can be completed before February 2027. That restructuring also expands the total project list from 28 to 36, though the district said no projects would be reduced in scope.
Commissioner Tom Ramsey (R) said the plan came too late and remarked that the county needs “leadership that will deliver.” Commissioner Rodney Ellis (D) also questioned publicly why a plan had not been developed sooner.
Buckingham, for her part, pushed back on the political fallout surrounding Petersen’s exit, writing to County Judge Lina Hidalgo that “Harris County needs shovels, not scapegoats,” and warning against turning the matter into a political exercise. Petersen said in her resignation letter that the debate over her role had become a distraction, and she indicated she planned to stay available to help with the transition.
The June 25 Commissioners Court meeting is expected to include an executive session item to discuss and potentially ratify Stuckett’s appointment.
