{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nMarcus Leonard Scruggs Jr., known as Marc Scruggs, is a candidate for Raleigh City Council District E in the November 3, 2026 general election, challenging incumbent Christina Jones, who has served on the council since 2022 [2][3]. Scruggs previously served two terms on the Raleigh City Council; his campaign site describes this as \"1995-1999\" [1], while Indy Week reports the more specific span of 1995 to 1997 and 1999 to 2001, per Wikipedia [2] -- both sources agree on two terms but differ on the exact years, so both are noted here. During his council service he chaired the Economic Development Committee and says he played a role in project agreements including the Lenovo Center and the NC Museum of History [1].\n\nScruggs's 2026 campaign priorities include keeping the city tax rate flat, preventing crime, and balancing growth with affordability [1].\n\n## Background and education\nScruggs is a Raleigh native and graduate of Ravenscroft High School, where he was elected Class President, Vice President, and later President of the Student Government Association. He earned a Bachelor of Science with Honors from East Carolina University and later a Master of Education degree with Highest Honors from Campbell University [1].\n\n## Career\nScruggs has worked as Head Men's and Women's Varsity Soccer Coach at Broughton High School in Raleigh, and had long-term employment at two historic Raleigh businesses, Briggs Hardware and Brown-Wynne Funeral Home. At age 60, he earned a North Carolina Funeral Director's license through Fayetteville Technical Community College and became a licensed funeral director at Brown-Wynne Funeral Home [1]. Indy Week's archive describes Scruggs as having changed party registration from Republican to Democrat and back to Republican over the years, and notes that his grandfather James Briggs was mayor of Raleigh from 1951 to 1953 [2].\n\n## Office history\nScruggs served two terms on the Raleigh City Council, chairing the Economic Development Committee; sources give the span as 1995-1999 (his campaign site) or, more specifically, 1995 to 1997 and 1999 to 2001 (Indy Week, citing Wikipedia) [1][2].\n\n## Family\nScruggs and his wife have been married for 40 years and have two daughters [1].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Marc Scruggs for Raleigh City Council \u2013 Campaign Website](https://www.marc4raleigh.com/)\n[2] [Who's Running for Raleigh City Council \u2013 Indy Week](https://indyweek.com/news/whos-running-raleigh-city-council/)\n[3] [Raleigh City Council Elections 2026 \u2013 Raleigh Public Record](https://news.raleighpublicrecord.org/news/2026/01/10/raleigh-city-council-elections-2026-candidates-new-term-structure/)","campaigns":[{"contest":"raleigh_city_council_district_e","county":"durham","county_count":2,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"NC","title":"City Of Raleigh City Council District E"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"Marcus","fullname":"Marcus Leonard Scruggs JR","lastname":"Scruggs","middlename":"Leonard","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"raleigh_city_council_district_e","contest_title":"City Of Raleigh City Council District E","county":"durham","county_count":2,"electiondate":"2026-11-03","office_county":"wake","office_key":"city_council","office_title":"City Council Member","party":"","pgr":"general","state":"NC"}],"county":"wake","cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"raleigh_city_council_district_e","contest_title":"City Of Raleigh City Council District E","county":"durham","county_count":2,"electiondate":"2026-11-03","office_county":"wake","office_key":"city_council","office_title":"City Council Member","party":"","pgr":"general","state":"NC"},"party":"","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"city_council","office_title":"City Council Member","state":"NC","terms":[]}],"suffix":"JR","summary":"The provided sources discuss the NC Voter Guide and 2026 candidate filing results but do not contain specific metadata for Marcus Leonard Scruggs JR.","terms":[],"token":"f08c271d09101fd4"}