First-term Richmond Hill City Councilman Mark Ott resigned from his Post 3 seat on Monday, citing the need to spend more time seeking employment.

A special election will be held to replace Ott, who had three years left in his term. City officials are hoping to hold the election in March.

In a letter to Mayor Russ Carpenter and the city council, Ott wrote, “It is with great sadness that I write this letter to inform you of my decision to resign my position as Richmond Hill City Councilmember Post 3, effective immediately. I understand that my term is set to run until December 2023, but due to my unemployment over the last year, I need to focus all my attention in attaining a job.”

Ott had been a project manager at Gulfstream and is a former B52 navigator and Air Force Academy grad.

He added, “While I regret that I am no longer able to represent the residents of Richmond Hill, I must do what is best for my family at this time.”

The City of Richmond Hill thanked Ott on its Facebook page Monday.

“We appreciate Mr. Ott’s time and efforts over this past year to represent the residents of Richmond Hill. Please join us in wishing him and his wonderful family the best in future endeavors.” 

Ott was elected to the post 3 council seat in November 2019. He defeated incumbent Bill Donahue.

During his time on council, Ott was the lone member to question Memorial’s planned freestanding emergency room off Port Royal Road. Ott was critical of the proposal and said he was uncertain of the need for such a facility. He also questioned, but approved, the city’s recent budget that didn’t fund firefighters for a temporary fire station near the new I-95 interchange.