Updated 5 p.m.
For more than thirty years, Paul Elizondo served as county commissioner, winning successive bids for the job as a Democrat. According to a statement from his family Thursday, the Precinct 2 county commissioner has died. He was 83.
"This morning, Commissioner Paul Elizondo passed away at his home. His passing was unexpected. The 83-year old San Antonio native had just celebrated the Christmas holiday with his family. Details of his funeral services will be forthcoming," the statement read.
Elizondo was first elected county commissioner of Precinct 2, on San Antonio's West Side, in 1982.
“He was my closest friend for over 17 years," Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff said. "We worked together on commissioners court and the Senate, and in that time we worked together on a huge number of important, transforming projects. … I’m going to terribly miss him terribly.”
Dozens of projects were completed under his tenure — from the Tobin Center to the Mission Reach expansion — but two projects he championed he will not see finished: The Alameda Theater, which includes the future home of Texas Public Radio, and the San Pedro Creek Expansion.
In his final meeting with the Commissioner's Court on Dec. 4, Elizondo offered a stern rebuke of the project for its lack of children’s facilities.
“With all this money that we are spending, I think we need to acknowledge the fact that we come up with something where little children can walk in this water, he said.
San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg praised Elizondo for his commitment to his constituents.
“His voice was one of the reasons why that area and that particular project got as much attention from the city and the county as it did," he said. "Commissioner Elizondo’s impact on the San Pedro Creek area and the West Side, in general, are incredibly important. He was a consummate champion for the community he represented.”
Nirenberg added: “For more than a generation, Elizondo was an icon of the West Side. He was a force in Bexar County government and politics. His influence will be felt for decades to come.
“... Paul’s impact from West Side revitalization to the support of the arts won’t soon be forgotten.”
In a recent debate on TPR's the source, he said he was a Democrat because it responded to his community's needs and was the people's party.
"It includes all walks of life and people who are members are our society," he said. "It has nothing to do with color. It has nothing to do with economic status. It has nothing to do with educational level."
Elizondo spent nearly 60 years in public service. He first served in the Marine Corps from 1957 to 1959. Then, from 1960 to 1978, Elizondo worked in the Edgewood School District as a teacher, band director, and supervisor of music. In 1979, he began his career in public office Representing District 57-1 in the Texas House of Representatives, before being elected county commissioner of Precinct 2 in 1982.
Elizondo is survived by his wife, Irene, three sons, and three granddaughters.
TPR's Paul Flahive contributed to this report