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PORT NECHES — Newly elected councilman Jim Wallace is ready to help others and make the city a better place.

Wallace, 69, earned the Place 3 seat on Port Neches City Council after beating opponent Mike Beaty in the election earlier this month.

The new councilman has been a Port Neches resident since he was 3 years old. He and his wife Virginia have been married 32 years and each had a child by a previous marriage.

Together they have six grandchildren.

Wallace retired from ExxonMobil in 2012.

He was urged to run for the position at the behest of a friend upon hearing incumbent John Davenport opted not to run for reelection.

The friend called and said he needed to run and. At first, Wallace thought he was being teased, saying they had the wrong guy.

“They said no, we want you to run, so me and my wife talked about it,” Wallace said. “We prayed about it and decided to do it.”

Wallace is a familiar sight in the city and has volunteered at the gates at Port Neches RiverFest for the past 18 years, he said.

He is an active member of St. Elizabeth Catholic Church and a member of the Knights of Columbus.

As for goals as a newly elected councilperson, there are none just yet.

“Not at this time,” Wallace said. “I want to help people and would like to see our city grow. I think if I can do that, then I’ve done my job.”