Leonard Scarcella ’67
July 1, 2020 — Leonard L. Scarcella, a 1967 graduate of the University of Houston Law Center and mayor of Stafford, Texas, for more than five decades died Sunday at the age of 79.
A lifelong resident of Stafford, he reportedly was the longest continuously serving mayor in the United States having first been elected in 1969 at the age of 29.
During his tenure, he was instrumental in fighting a six-year battle to create the Stafford Municipal School District, the only such district in the state; eliminating the city property tax in 1995, making Stafford the largest city in the state to abolish the tax; development of the Stafford Centre, an entertainment and cultural complex; development of the science and technology center for the Houston Community College on the Stafford Campus as the first such authorized city/college educational facility in the state. HCC trustees named the center in his honor in 1998.
He was a graduate of Texas A&M University and served in the Texas Air National Guard with active duty in the United States Air Force, 1963 – 1969, attaining the rank of sergeant.
Services will be 11:30 a.m., Thursday, July 2, at Holy Family Catholic Church, 1501 Fifth Street, Missouri City, Texas.
