Frank D. Scott Jr. (born November 18, 1983) is an American politician from the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

. He is the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Little Rock, Arkansas (The Little Rock, The "Little Rock") , government_type = council-manager government, Council-manager , leader_title = List of mayors of Little Rock, Arkansas, Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_ ...

, serving since January 2019. Scott is a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

Early life and education

Scott is from Southwest Little Rock. He graduated from

Mann Arts and Science Magnet Middle School Horace Mann Arts and Sciences Magnet Middle School is a magnet middle school located in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States. It is part of the Little Rock School District. The school was named after educational reformer and Congressman Horace Mann ...

and

Parkview Arts and Science Magnet High School :'' For other places with this name, see Parkview School (disambiguation).'' Parkview Arts and Science Magnet High School is a magnet school in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States that concentrates heavily on science and the arts. It is Arkansas ...

. He then earned his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in business from the

University of Memphis } The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students. The university maintains the Herff College of Engineering ...

, where he became a brother of

Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. () is the oldest intercollegiate historically African American fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the 1905–1906 school year at Cornell University but later evolved int ...

fraternity, and his

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

from the

University of Arkansas at Little Rock The University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UA Little Rock) is a public research university in Little Rock, Arkansas. Established as Little Rock Junior College by the Little Rock School District in 1927, the institution became a private four-year ...

Political career

Scott began his public service career in the office of

Arkansas Governor The governor of Arkansas is the head of government of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The governor is the head of the executive branch of the Arkansas government and is charged with enforcing state laws. They have the power to either approve or v ...

Mike Beebe Mickey Dale Beebe ( ; born December 28, 1946) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 45th governor of Arkansas from 2007 to 2015. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Born in Amagon, Arkansas, Beebe is a graduate of Arkansa ...

, where he served for five years, first as deputy policy director and later as director of intergovernmental affairs. Scott accepted a position as a community banker with First Security Bank, while continuing to devote significant time to serving both his city and state as a member of the Port of Little Rock Board of Directors and as a member of the Arkansas Highway Commission. In the 2018 election, Scott ran for mayor of Little Rock. In the November 6 nonpartisan election, he led a five-candidate field with 37.11% of the vote, falling short of the 40% required to avoid a

runoff election The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resul ...

. Scott and Baker Kurrus advanced to a December 4 runoff, where Scott defeated Kurrus. Scott is the first elected African American mayor of Little Rock. Scott was sworn in on January 1, 2019. In his first term, Scott proposed the "Rebuild the Rock" initiative, to be supported by a new

sales tax A sales tax is a tax paid to a governing body for the sales of certain goods and services. Usually laws allow the seller to collect funds for the tax from the consumer at the point of purchase. When a tax on goods or services is paid to a govern ...

to replace an expiring one. The measure was defeated in a referendum in September 2021. Scott ran for reelection in the 2022 election. He defeated Steve Landers, with 50% of the vote.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Frank Jr. 1983 births 21st-century American politicians African-American mayors in Arkansas Living people Mayors of Little Rock, Arkansas Members of the Arkansas State Highway Commission University of Arkansas at Little Rock alumni University of Memphis alumni 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American people