Now Hidalgo is stepping down, and Texas GOP leaders are preparing to pour money into an expensive race to replace her in 2026.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWhat makes it challenging is that there are responsibilities we have as a county \u2026 we are tasked with making sure the community is safe, the courts are operating, but we don\u2019t get any real significant funding from the state for that,\u201d Rodriguez said. \u201c\u2026 that\u2019s where we have to put our heads together [as Texas counties] and think about, how do we work smarter and more efficiently?\u201d<\/p>\n Such dynamics are at now at the heart of a Bexar County judge race where local voters are being asked to choose between a Sakai, a longtime district court judge who believes Bexar County has for too long neglected its core responsibilities<\/a>, and Nirenberg, an ambitious challenger who says the county could be taking on so much more<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the answer is probably somewhere in the middle,\u201d said Rodriguez, who gave up a seat in the Texas Legislature for his current role, when then-County Judge Nelson Wolff appointed him to replace<\/a> the late Precinct 2 Commissioner Paul Elizondo in 2019.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got core responsibilities, and I think we need to be the best at those \u2026 But I think where we can, we also need to be partners in economic development.\u201d<\/p>\n Rodriguez sat down with the Report to talk about how Texas counties are changing and innovating, their challenging relationship with state GOP leaders, and his new role as chair-elect of the Texas Conference of Urban Counties<\/a>.<\/p>\n This interview has been edited for length and clarity.<\/p>\n When we think about the big conflicts between a Republican-controlled state and its big blue urban centers, it\u2019s usually more about the cities than the counties, but that seems to be changing some in recent years. Can you explain the dynamics here?<\/p>\n Unlike a city that has home rule or they can set up their own ordinances, we don\u2019t have that kind of ability. We have to essentially enforce the laws. We have to abide by what the legislature has given us in terms of any authority. As an example, we don\u2019t have land use authority. So whereas the city has zoning within the city limits, we don\u2019t have that same kind of authority at the county level.<\/p>\n What makes it challenging is that there are responsibilities we have as a county \u2014 the administration of justice is probably the main one \u2014 we are tasked with making sure the community is safe, the courts are operating, but we don\u2019t get any real significant funding from the state for that.<\/p>\n One example is this last budget, when it came to flood control, we were proactive in working with the [San Antonio River Authority] to set up a NextGen warning system<\/a>. We\u2019ve not been notified that we\u2019re getting any state funding for that at all.<\/p>\n The Texas Conference of Urban Counties is a way for us to get together collectively and think through, No. 1, how do we learn from each other and figure out what the other urban counties are doing? But also, how do we [approach] the next legislative session so that we can prioritize our asks, whether it be for funding or for more authority.<\/p>\n I\u2019ll be chair-elect in 2026 and then I\u2019ll be the chair in 2027, which is kind of critical, because that\u2019s when the next legislative session is, so they\u2019re going to put me in the hot seat for that.<\/p>\n Where are counties innovating that it might be replicated here?<\/p>\n I think the overlap I see significantly is in behavioral health. I can tell you that when we looked at part of those dollars that were coming in from the federal government, the [<\/a>Specialized Multidisciplinary Alternate Response Team (SMART) initiative<\/a> that we began a few years ago \u2026 I don\u2019t 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\u2019s a mental health crisis as opposed to a public safety crisis?<\/p>\n That is an area where I\u2019ve seen more collaboration, not just within [the conference of urban counties], but intergovernmentally, like cities and counties figuring out, how do we beef up our diversion program so that folks are getting the help they need, and they\u2019re not just being locked up in the jail for 90 to 120 days.<\/p>\n Those are the things that we\u2019re focusing on from Bexar County\u2019s perspective, particularly now that our jail population has skyrocketed, and we know that there are folks sitting in there who, their main issue is either mental health or substance abuse. There\u2019s going to be a huge focus on that going into the next legislative session, because we don\u2019t receive a lot of funding for that \u2026 we all hope there\u2019s relief around the corner, but we don\u2019t have any indication it\u2019s coming.<\/p>\n Is it the state\u2019s perspective that counties shouldn\u2019t be taking on these projects in the first place?<\/p>\n I think that they know these are issues that have to be addressed, I just think that their priority is not necessarily coming up with the funding for it. We\u2019ve seen the state even try to limit how counties and local communities can raise revenues, and they want to put caps on how we can do that. <\/p>\n Part of you know the issue is, from the state\u2019s perspective \u2014 having been there \u2014 there is a viewpoint that it\u2019s one-size-fits-all when it comes to counties. <\/p>\n In some cases, it maybe makes a lot more sense for a rural county to be at the forefront of public health, where you don\u2019t have a large city like we do. <\/p>\n From an urban county\u2019s viewpoint, I think it\u2019s more incumbent upon us to be collaborators and make sure we\u2019re covering \u2014 whether it\u2019s on housing assistance or public health \u2014 the unincorporated areas first, because the city\u2019s Metro Health is covering significant parts of the city limits.<\/p>\n The state doesn\u2019t really view [it that way]. They just say, \u2018Here is the formula. You guys figure it out.\u2019 And I think that hurts from a policy making perspective.<\/p>\n Large Texas counties have seen an influx of more partisan, early-career candidates vying for top leadership roles. For example Lina Hidalgo unseating a seasoned<\/a> Republican incumbent for the Harris County Judge role in 2018, and former Tarrant County Republican Party Chair Tim O\u2019Hare replacing longtime County Judge Jason Whitley<\/a> when the latter retired in 2022. Why do you think this role is becoming more of a political launchpad?<\/p>\n It\u2019s a good question \u2026 In general, particularly with the urban counties, that\u2019s where the growth is. We\u2019ve seen it here. To a certain degree, the City of San Antonio is becoming landlocked, and so the growth is happening in the unincorporated areas. That\u2019s happening all over, in Dallas County and Harris County. So I just think maybe there\u2019s a little bit more of a spotlight on counties because of that growth.<\/p>\n In the seven years I\u2019ve been here, the number of calls we get from constituents in unincorporated areas has grown, just because that\u2019s where the rooftops are going up. When there\u2019s more density, it\u2019s harder for folks to move around, and so the planning for some of the infrastructure is behind, and we can\u2019t catch up.<\/p>\n That growth plays a big role in a largely property-tax driven budget, as we saw last fall, when the county was still collecting more revenue<\/a> than the year before, but the city was at a deficit. Does that mean the county can afford to keep going on the projects it started with pandemic relief dollars, like creating its own public health department<\/a>, integrating mental health programs into school<\/a> and law enforcement response systems<\/a>?<\/p>\n I think we would be the first to acknowledge that there\u2019s growth, but it\u2019s not as steady growth as it has been over the past few years \u2026 We\u2019ve got the [federal pandemic relief] dollars that are coming off the books soon, and we\u2019ve got ARPA programs \u2014 SMART is one of them, mental health for our youth \u2014 that we\u2019ve got to figure out how we sustain because they\u2019re making an impact, from our perspective. <\/p>\n I don\u2019t think it\u2019s going to be like a day of reckoning. We have to be measured in preparing for that. We\u2019ve asked staff to take a hard look at some of these programs to give us an idea of the efficacy, the impact. Certainly there\u2019s going to be tough choices involved, and I think we all realize that there are probably going to be some disagreements on those priorities.<\/p>\n But, we also knew that going in, right? At the time, you\u2019re just thinking about responding to a crisis. That\u2019s what we all did with the information we had at the time, try to address what we believed were the biggest issues. <\/p>\n There\u2019ll come a time where we\u2019ll have to figure out things like, maybe we lean on our partners like University Health for a little bit more on the public health piece. I know folks don\u2019t want to hear this, but do we have to look at potentially increasing the property tax rate? Not just us, but University Health. <\/p>\n I\u2019m not saying that\u2019s going to happen in this next cycle or the one after, but at some point, you\u2019re in a community that is over 2.1 million in population and growing at a steady clip. How can we continue to live within our means, but also prepare for that growth?<\/p>\n This evolving view of a county\u2019s role seems to loom large in the Bexar County judge race right now. Judge Peter Sakai had a long career as a judge and campaigned on a platform of making the county better at its core responsibilities. Then you have former Mayor Ron Nirenberg, who is running against him in the Democratic primary, saying the county could do so much more. Who is right?<\/p>\n We\u2019ve got to figure out making sure we take care of those core functions first, and those aren\u2019t easy. I lose track of how many different elected officials that we have now hold the purse strings for, either their courtroom or their department, their office. Those are constituents as well, and I think we rely on them to tell us what they need.<\/p>\n Where we can, I think we also need to be partners in economic development, like we have been, whether it was the [Missions\u2019 Minor League Baseball] development<\/a> or what we did this fall for the Spurs\u2019 [new downtown basketball]<\/a> arena.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve never subscribed to the kind of \u201cstay in your lane\u201d perspective. We have a responsibility to step up and respond to our constituents\u2019 needs. I think that we can be good at those core competencies, but also make sure we\u2019re being visionary, and that we\u2019re being a part of solutions for improving the quality of life here in Bexar County.<\/p>\n You passed on the open judge race in 2022 when Wolff retired. Now you\u2019re sitting on close to $1 million<\/a> in your campaign account, and running for another four-year term<\/a>. What should we make of that?<\/p>\n I think [then-Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff] made it pretty clear he wanted me to do it [in 2022] \u2026 it just didn\u2019t seem like it was the perfect time. I wanted to give this job a few more years, and I\u2019ve always believed you do it in your own time.<\/p>\n I am gearing up for reelection at this point. I\u2019ve always been pretty consistent about raising money. We\u2019ll run a campaign like we need to to stay in office this year and then look at things after that, we\u2019ll see. I never look past the next election.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a great job. I\u2019ve had the honor of serving now at four different levels of government [SAISD school board, San Antonio City Council, the Texas House and county commissioner]. To me, this one is like a hybrid of all of them, where you can really work on things that are so important to your community. <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/BexarCountyCommissioner_JustinRodriguez_PrecinctTwo_06_01.12.2026_AmberEsparza.jpg\")
Bexar County Court Commissioner for Precinct 2 Justin Rodriguez at the balcony outside of his office at the Paul Elizondo Tower on Jan. 12, 2026. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/BexarCountyCommissionersCourt_RebeccaClayFlores_JustinRodriguez_08.26.2025_DiegoMedel.jpg\")
Bexar County Precinct 1 Commissioner Rebeca Clay-Flores whispers to Precinct 2 Commissioner Justin Rodriguez during a county budget work session on Aug. 26, 2025. Credit: Diego Medel \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n![\"Precinct](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/scott-stephen-ball_county-judge-peter-sakai-first-commissioners-court-bexar-1-10-2023.jpg\")
Precinct 2 County Commissioner Justin Rodriguez is sworn in on Jan. 10, 2023. Credit: Scott Ball \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n