Hours after swearing-in, controversy sparks over late Bexar County commissioner's replacement

SAN ANTONIO — Just hours after Justin Rodriguez, D-San Antonio, was sworn in as Bexar County commissioner for Precinct 2 on Friday, controversy began to brew over his appointment.

Paul Elizondo’s opponent in the May runoff, Queta Rodriguez, claims Judge Nelson Wolff overlooked qualified candidates, including herself.

Wolff selected Rodriguez to replace Paul Elizondo, who died late last month.

"I'm going to do my best to live up to his legacy," Rodriguez said.

Wolff says the decision wasn't made overnight, given Elizondo's failing health.

"Commissioner Paul Elizondo and I never talked about what would happen if something happened to him,” Wolff said. “We did talk a lot about people he liked and he thought would be good…Justin was certainly one of them."

Rodriguez says she caught wind Rodriguez would be appointed before the official announcement and is alleging Wolff failed to consider other candidates, including herself, who fit the bill for the position.

"There was a lack of transparency in the process,” she said. “Nearly half of the people who voted in the last election wanted me to sit in that position. (That) should have been signal enough to him to say, ‘Hey, we should consider this person.’"

Only a few hundred votes separated Rodriguez and Elizondo out of more than 10,000 in the May election.

However, Wolff argues the election results were a sign.

"She ran for office and she lost that office,” he said. “I was open to anybody, but I had a criteria that I was looking for. Nobody came close to fitting that criteria but Justin Rodriguez."

Rodriguez defended her position, adding that commissioners represent the public and adding that when Wolff finalized the appointment, he stripped her supporters' voice for change.

"Every single other governing body has women except for the Bexar County Commissioners Court and he had an opportunity to change that, but he didn't even consider it," Rodriguez said. “It's a 'good old boy' system.”

The moment Rodriguez was sworn in as the commissioner marked an immediate resignation for the seat he filled in district 125 of the Texas Legislature. He says he plans to seek a special election to fill his seat as the legislative session gears up for the first session on Tuesday.