Now that services for the late Bexar County Commissioner Paul Elizondo have concluded, retired U.S. Marine Captain Queta Rodriguez is making her case for appointment to his Precinct Two seat, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
In a letter to Judge Nelson Wolff, who has the sole discretion to appoint a successor to fill the first two years of what would have been Elizondo's ninth term, which he won after being forced into a Democratic Party runoff by Rodriguez, she cites her success at the voting booth as one reason why she deserves the position.
"Nearly half of the constituents who voted in the most recent primary election for this particular seat have already indicated who they would like to fill this position," she wrote.
Rodriguez also pointed out the elephant in the room, that the Commissioners Court today is all male, and has been since Cyndi Krier resigned as County Judge in 2001, ironically, to make way for the appointment of Wolff.
"As a woman served by the only governing body in all of Bexar County that does not have a single woman representative, the appointment of a male without consideration of women who are fully competent and capable, is insulting. In a governing body whose decisions affect nearly 2 million people and a precinct of nearly half a million, over 50% of whom are women, there is undoubtedly at least one woman who meets the requirements to serve as a County Commissioner."
There are indications that Wolff would like to pick former City Councilman and current State Rep. Justin Rodriguez to succeed Elizondo. Rodriguez questioned the 'transparency' of Wolff's thought process, and said as an elected official himself, he should consider 'the voice of those you were elected to serve.'
Appointing Rodriguez to the Commissioners Court seat would also deprive voters in his west side Legislative district of a voice in the upcoming session. The Texas Legislature will be gaveled into session next week, and it by the time a special election could be set to fill the seat, the session would be half over.
Like Elizondo, Rodriguez is a Marine, and she has been very active in veterans causes.
Her mother, Lourdes Galvan, is a former member of San Antonio City Council and is a very active community leader, and her father, Henry Rodriguez, is a national leader of LULAC.