Commissioner Justin Rodriguez (Pct. 2) sat out the open Bexar County decide race in 2022, and he hasn’t picked a aspect on this yr’s heated contest between incumbent Peter Sakai and former Mayor Ron Nirenberg.
However as he gears up for a brand new function main Texas’ city counties legislative technique subsequent yr, Rodriguez sat down with the San Antonio Report to elucidate why county governments throughout the state have gotten extra of a political battleground.
Not like home-rule cities, which have considered themselves as a backstop in opposition to insurance policies promoted by the state’s Republican leaders, Rodriguez mentioned counties historically haven’t had that fame as a result of they had been created by the state to handle state features just like the justice system, elections and infrastructure.
“Usually, we’re arms of the state, and so our duties are basically outlined by that,” Rodriguez mentioned in a Jan. 12 interview. “[But] once we consider the front-porch points that hold folks up at evening, it’s security, it’s transportation. These are the issues that I believe are driving … an even bigger highlight on counties.”
Inhabitants progress is booming exterior of the land-locked city core, each in San Antonio and elsewhere he mentioned —making county legislation enforcement and emergency response extra vital.
In the meantime, a world pandemic put county management in a brand new mild for many individuals, and led to an inflow of one-time federal cash that allowed counties to innovate of their method on points they wouldn’t have had cash for prior to now.
For instance, Harris County Choose Lina Hildalgo, a younger progressive who defeated a longtime Republican incumbent for the job in 2018, created a assured earnings program for susceptible residents, which was rapidly challenged by the state. She additionally tried to pursue an early baby care initiative that was shut down by colleagues because of the tax enhance it might require to pay for it.
Now Hidalgo is stepping down, and Texas GOP leaders are getting ready to pour cash into an costly race to exchange her in 2026.
“What makes it difficult is that there are tasks we’ve as a county … we’re tasked with ensuring the neighborhood is secure, the courts are working, however we don’t get any actual vital funding from the state for that,” Rodriguez mentioned. “… that’s the place we’ve to place our heads collectively [as Texas counties] and take into consideration, how will we work smarter and extra effectively?”
Such dynamics are at now on the coronary heart of a Bexar County decide race the place native voters are being requested to decide on between a Sakai, a longtime district courtroom decide who believes Bexar County has for too lengthy uncared for its core tasks, and Nirenberg, an formidable challenger who says the county could possibly be taking up a lot extra.
“I believe the reply might be someplace within the center,” mentioned Rodriguez, who gave up a seat within the Texas Legislature for his present function, when then-County Choose Nelson Wolff appointed him to exchange the late Precinct 2 Commissioner Paul Elizondo in 2019.
“We’ve obtained core tasks, and I believe we must be the most effective at these … However I believe the place we will, we additionally must be companions in financial improvement.”
Rodriguez sat down with the Report to speak about how Texas counties are altering and innovating, their difficult relationship with state GOP leaders, and his new function as chair-elect of the Texas Convention of City Counties.
This interview has been edited for size and readability.
Once we take into consideration the large conflicts between a Republican-controlled state and its large blue city facilities, it’s normally extra concerning the cities than the counties, however that appears to be altering some in recent times. Are you able to clarify the dynamics right here?
Not like a metropolis that has dwelling rule or they’ll arrange their very own ordinances, we don’t have that sort of means. We have now to basically implement the legal guidelines. We have now to abide by what the legislature has given us when it comes to any authority. For instance, we don’t have land use authority. So whereas the town has zoning throughout the metropolis limits, we don’t have that very same sort of authority on the county stage.
What makes it difficult is that there are tasks we’ve as a county — the administration of justice might be the primary one — we’re tasked with ensuring the neighborhood is secure, the courts are working, however we don’t get any actual vital funding from the state for that.
One instance is that this final price range, when it got here to flood management, we had been proactive in working with the [San Antonio River Authority] to arrange a NextGen warning system. We’ve not been notified that we’re getting any state funding for that in any respect.
The Texas Convention of City Counties is a manner for us to get collectively collectively and assume by, No. 1, how will we study from one another and determine what the opposite city counties are doing? But in addition, how will we [approach] the subsequent legislative session in order that we will prioritize our asks, whether or not it’s for funding or for extra authority.
I’ll be chair-elect in 2026 after which I’ll be the chair in 2027, which is sort of vital, as a result of that’s when the subsequent legislative session is, in order that they’re going to place me within the sizzling seat for that.
The place are counties innovating that it is perhaps replicated right here?
I believe the overlap I see considerably is in behavioral well being. I can let you know that once we checked out a part of these {dollars} that had been coming in from the federal authorities, the [Specialized Multidisciplinary Alternate Response Team (SMART) initiative that we began a few years ago … I don’t think we were necessarily trailblazers in that, I think there are other smaller communities that were doing that as well, in terms of addressing how law enforcement reacts to a crisis. Does it have to be someone in a uniform with a gun? Can it be someone that is more trained in examining whether or not there’s a mental health crisis as opposed to a public safety crisis?
That is an area where I’ve seen more collaboration, not just within [the conference of urban counties], however intergovernmentally, like cities and counties determining, how will we beef up our diversion program so that people are getting the assistance they want, and so they’re not simply being locked up within the jail for 90 to 120 days.
These are the issues that we’re specializing in from Bexar County’s perspective, significantly now that our jail inhabitants has skyrocketed, and we all know that there are people sitting in there who, their most important difficulty is both psychological well being or substance abuse. There’s going to be an enormous concentrate on that going into the subsequent legislative session, as a result of we don’t obtain a variety of funding for that … all of us hope there’s reduction across the nook, however we don’t have any indication it’s coming.
Is it the state’s perspective that counties shouldn’t be taking up these initiatives within the first place?
I believe that they know these are points that need to be addressed, I simply assume that their precedence shouldn’t be essentially arising with the funding for it. We’ve seen the state even attempt to restrict how counties and native communities can increase revenues, and so they wish to put caps on how we will try this.
A part of the problem is, from the state’s perspective — having been there — there’s a viewpoint that it’s one-size-fits-all in relation to counties.
In some instances, it possibly makes much more sense for a rural county to be on the forefront of public well being, the place you don’t have a big metropolis like we do.
From an city county’s viewpoint, I believe it’s extra incumbent upon us to be collaborators and ensure we’re masking — whether or not it’s on housing help or public well being — the unincorporated areas first, as a result of the town’s Metro Well being is masking vital components of the town limits.
The state doesn’t actually view [it that way]. They only say, ‘Right here is the components. You guys determine it out.’ And I believe that hurts from a coverage making perspective.
Massive Texas counties have seen an inflow of extra partisan, early-career candidates vying for prime management roles. For instance Lina Hidalgo unseating a seasoned Republican incumbent for the Harris County Choose function in 2018, and former Tarrant County Republican Get together Chair Tim O’Hare changing longtime County Choose Jason Whitley when the latter retired in 2022. Why do you assume this function is changing into extra of a political launchpad?
It’s a very good query … Usually, significantly with the city counties, that’s the place the expansion is. We’ve seen it right here. To a sure diploma, the Metropolis of San Antonio is changing into landlocked, and so the expansion is occurring within the unincorporated areas. That’s occurring throughout, in Dallas County and Harris County. So I simply assume possibly there’s just a little bit extra of a highlight on counties due to that progress.
Within the seven years I’ve been right here, the variety of calls we get from constituents in unincorporated areas has grown, simply because that’s the place the rooftops are going up. When there’s extra density, it’s more durable for folk to maneuver round, and so the planning for a number of the infrastructure is behind, and we will’t catch up.
That progress performs an enormous function in a largely property-tax pushed price range, as we noticed final fall, when the county was nonetheless amassing extra income than the yr earlier than, however the metropolis was at a deficit. Does that imply the county can afford to maintain occurring the initiatives it began with pandemic reduction {dollars}, like creating its personal public well being division, integrating psychological well being packages into faculty and legislation enforcement response techniques?
I believe we might be the primary to acknowledge that there’s progress, but it surely’s not as regular progress because it has been over the previous few years … We’ve obtained the [federal pandemic relief] {dollars} which are coming off the books quickly, and we’ve obtained ARPA packages — SMART is one in all them, psychological well being for our youth — that we’ve obtained to determine how we maintain as a result of they’re making an impression, from our perspective.
I don’t assume it’s going to be like a day of reckoning. We have now to be measured in getting ready for that. We’ve requested employees to take a tough take a look at a few of these packages to present us an concept of the efficacy, the impression. Definitely there’s going to be robust decisions concerned, and I believe all of us understand that there are most likely going to be some disagreements on these priorities.
However, we additionally knew that getting in, proper? On the time, you’re simply fascinated about responding to a disaster. That’s what all of us did with the knowledge we had on the time, attempt to tackle what we believed had been the largest points.
There’ll come a time the place we’ll have to determine issues like, possibly we lean on our companions like College Well being for just a little bit extra on the general public well being piece. I do know people don’t wish to hear this, however do we’ve to have a look at probably growing the property tax fee? Not simply us, however College Well being.
I’m not saying that’s going to occur on this subsequent cycle or the one after, however in some unspecified time in the future, you’re in a neighborhood that’s over 2.1 million in inhabitants and rising at a gentle clip. How can we proceed to reside inside our means, but additionally put together for that progress?
This evolving view of a county’s function appears to loom giant within the Bexar County decide race proper now. Choose Peter Sakai had a protracted profession as a decide and campaigned on a platform of constructing the county higher at its core tasks. Then you have got former Mayor Ron Nirenberg, who’s operating in opposition to him within the Democratic major, saying the county may achieve this rather more. Who is correct?
We’ve obtained to determine ensuring we maintain these core features first, and people aren’t simple. I lose observe of what number of completely different elected officers that we’ve now maintain the purse strings for, both their courtroom or their division, their workplace. These are constituents as effectively, and I believe we depend on them to inform us what they want.
The place we will, I believe we additionally must be companions in financial improvement, like we’ve been, whether or not it was the [Missions’ Minor League Baseball] improvement or what we did this fall for the Spurs’ [new downtown basketball] area.
I’ve by no means subscribed to the sort of “keep in your lane” perspective. We have now a duty to step up and reply to our constituents’ wants. I believe that we may be good at these core competencies, but additionally ensure we’re being visionary, and that we’re being part of options for bettering the standard of life right here in Bexar County.
You handed on the open decide race in 2022 when Wolff retired. Now you’re sitting on near $1 million in your marketing campaign account, and operating for an additional four-year time period. What ought to we make of that?
I believe [then-Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff] made it fairly clear he needed me to do it [in 2022] … it simply didn’t look like it was the right time. I needed to present this job a couple of extra years, and I’ve all the time believed you do it in your individual time.
I’m gearing up for reelection at this level. I’ve all the time been fairly constant about elevating cash. We’ll run a marketing campaign like we have to to remain in workplace this yr after which take a look at issues after that, we’ll see. I by no means look previous the subsequent election.
It’s an ideal job. I’ve had the dignity of serving now at 4 completely different ranges of presidency [SAISD school board, San Antonio City Council, the Texas House and county commissioner]. To me, this one is sort of a hybrid of all of them, the place you may actually work on issues which are so necessary to your neighborhood.
I simply penned an op-ed on a number of the well being disparities in 78207, which is a Pct. 2 ZIP code that is among the poorest within the state, possibly even the nation, in relation to well being disparities, financial disparities. I typically take into consideration … how we will proceed to speculate, whether or not it’s infrastructure or public security or alternative, in order that it advances the ball for these sorts of constituents, for these individuals who I believe are a number of the neediest in our neighborhood. I believe that’s what evokes me.
