Scott worked as community affairs consultant for
Inova Fairfax Hospital. He served, part-time, on the
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors from 1972 to 1986. Other public service positions he held were on the
Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, Northern
Virginia Planning District Commission,
Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (former chairman), Virginia Association of Counties (former President), and the
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. Scott was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in the
1991 House of Delegates election to represent the 53rd district (covering the city of Falls Church), defeating Republican opponent David G. Sanders. Following a recount, Scott's margin of victory was determined to be a single vote (6,493 to 6,492), resulting in him earning the nickname "
Landslide Jim". During his tenure in the House of Delegates, he was considered to be a political liberal. Scott was re-elected 10 times. from 1991 to
2011. In 2013 Scott announced that he would not run for reelection to the House of Delegates. He endorsed
Marcus Simon, his former aide turned real estate lawyer, who was elected his successor. ==Death==