- Official Endorsement
The Coastal Bend Coalition proudly endorses
Merida Nardone Mendoza
Corpus Christi City Council · At Large · Election Day: November 3, 2026
- Meet the Candidate
A proven leader for At-Large.
Merida “May” Nardone Mendoza has spent 40 years building businesses and serving Corpus Christi, from two decades as a Farmers Insurance agent to owning local restaurants today. A past Chair of the United Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce, she’s running for one of the city’s three At-Large seats with a clear, current position on the issue that matters most: securing Corpus Christi’s water future.
On November 3, Corpus Christi has a choice for At-Large: Merida Nardone Mendoza.
Office
Corpus Christi City Council
District
At Large
- Why We Endorse
Merida Nardone Mendoza stands with the Coastal Bend.
Sustainable Growth
A multi-business owner for 40 years, Mendoza calls herself pro-growth, and says development should be paired with the roads, water, and public safety resources needed to support it.
Water Security
Mendoza’s position on water is unqualified. She supports the Inner Harbor desalination plant as currently permitted, backed by secured state funding and federal and state environmental permits. She wants the city to pair the project with real-time environmental monitoring, in partnership with groups like the Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program and the Harte Research Institute, to keep it accountable as it moves forward. As Chamber Chair in 2023, she backed the Chamber board’s vote to support Inner Harbor.
Local Leadership
A past Chair of the United Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce and a former District 4 council candidate, Mendoza has spent decades on local boards, including the Padre Island Business Association, the Coastal Bend Texas Restaurant Association, and Goodwill Industries.
Infrastructure & Planning
Mendoza names improving and maintaining city streets among her top three priorities for Corpus Christi, alongside water security and public safety staffing.
- Our Case for Merida Nardone Mendoza
Why the Coastal Bend needs Merida Nardone Mendoza.
Merida “May” Nardone Mendoza has spent nearly her entire life in Corpus Christi, aside from years living out of state as a Naval aviator’s wife, and has built a career across insurance, hospitality, and retail. She spent 20 years as a Farmers Insurance agent, and currently owns Mikel May’s Beachside Bar & Grill, which she’s run since 2013, and Perrin’s on the Water, since 2023. That business background is matched by a long record of community leadership: she was an original board member of the United Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce, served as its Treasurer, and became its Chair in 2023, alongside service with the Padre Island Business Association, the Coastal Bend Texas Restaurant Association, Kiwanis, and the Goodwill Industries board.
On water, Mendoza’s record shows real evolution rather than a fixed talking point. As Chamber Chair in 2023, she personally preferred a different desalination site over Inner Harbor and had environmental concerns, but upheld the Chamber board’s vote to back Inner Harbor out of respect for the process. In the time since, she says additional study and conversations with water experts changed her mind. Today her position is unqualified: she supports the Inner Harbor plant as currently permitted, backed by secured state funding and federal and state environmental permits, and she wants the city to pair that with real-time environmental monitoring, in partnership with groups like the Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program and the Harte Research Institute, to keep the project accountable as it moves forward.
Mendoza ran for City Council District 4 in 2024 and lost in the runoff, a campaign in which she earned endorsements from the Corpus Christi Police Officers Association, the Corpus Christi Firefighters Association, and this Coalition. She’s running again this cycle for one of the city’s three At-Large seats.
Without a councilmember who has actually wrestled with the hard tradeoffs on this issue and come out supporting the region’s water future, Corpus Christi risks more delay on the project it needs most. Merida Nardone Mendoza has already shown she’ll do the work and change her mind when the facts call for it. The Coalition is confident she’ll bring that same judgment to the council.
“If the current Council does not approve the Inner Harbor Desalination Project, it will be one of the first items I try to get passed as an At Large Councilperson.”
Merida Nardone Mendoza
- In the Community
Merida for At Large
- The Coalition's Endorsement
Merida Nardone Mendoza brings four decades of business and community leadership, and a clear, well-considered commitment to the Inner Harbor desalination project, to an At-Large seat that needs both. The Coastal Bend Coalition proudly endorses Merida Nardone Mendoza for City Council At-Large. Vote for Merida Nardone Mendoza on November 3.
- Make Your Plan to Vote
Every vote counts.
- Early Voting
Oct 19– 30
- Election Day
November 3
- Your Race
CC Council · At Large
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