SAN ANTONIO — Peter Sakai was sworn in as Bexar County judge on New Year's Day at the Bexar County Courthouse, marking the position's first transition since Nelson Wolff took the seat nearly 21 years ago.
The county judge-elect was surrounded by his family and sworn into office by Orlando L. Garcia.
Sakai was born and raised by his Japanese-American parents in the Rio Grande Valley. He became the youngest Section of Chief of the Appellate Division and was the first Asian-American to sit on a District Court bench in Bexar County in 2006.
Sakai will be the first new leader of the Bexar County Commissioners Court since Wolff won the seat in 2000. He collected 57% of the vote in the November general election, compared to 39% for Trish DeBerry. Libertarian Edgar Coyle collected 3% of the vote.
Some of the things Sakai said he wanted to do in Bexar County was get an I-35 double-decker project going, commit to finishing the Loop 1604 expansion and take a look at VIA and multi-modal transportation throughout the county.
“We can’t continue to keep putting more cars out or open more lanes,” Judge Sakai also said, adding he is concerned about staying away from non-attainment and air quality issues in Bexar County.
Sakai has worked in the judicial system for 26 years, including his four-term service as the 225th District Court judge, a role he left in October 2021.