SAN ANTONIO — Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff is saying goodbye after 20 years in the county’s highest seat.
During his final State of the County address, Judge Wolff – who previously served as San Antonio mayor, Texas state representative and state senator – reflected on some of his biggest achievements and laid out what may be the priorities for the next judge.
During his speech he discussed the importance of creating public health initiatives and projects blending nature with urban lifestyle. He also reflected on how much the county has changed since he took office.
“When I came in, there were 1,300,000 people here and roughly now there’s over 2,000,000—and it’s going to continue as we grow along. And we’re leaving the county in excellent shape,” Judge Wolff said before his speech on Wednesday.
Judge Wolff highlighted the county’s $120 million investment into public health, a chunk of change that includes a new county preventive health department, a School of Public Health partnership between UT Health and UTSA and $30 million to build the headquarters for the University Health public health division. It’s not necessarily about responding to COVID, but preparing for the next virus that may come.
“We had over 5,000 people die here and most of them that died had underlying health issues whether it was diabetes cardiovascular issues, obesity, and so we need to work on getting people healthy,” Judge Wolff said.
Although the pandemic was a low point, Judge Wolff says some of his accomplishments include Bibliotech, the country’s first all-digital library system, and the Mission Reach region of the San Antonio River, capped by the renovations to San Pedro Creek.
He also says reforming the criminal justice system is another aspect of taking care of the county’s residents.
“I think we made some great strides. And I know that the county government is set to continue to focus on any other major issues it’ll be facing,” Judge Wolff wasn’t too clear on his post-retirement plans but says he doesn’t want to sit around.
After a political career spanning five decades, Judge Wolff says he is confident in the county’s next leader.
"I believe when you serve in office and you leave office, you just get out of the way and don’t be a hindrance to whoever takes your place. If they call for advice, I’ll certainly respond to it, but I’m not going to be there to second-guess them. I think we’re in good hands,” Judge Wolff said.
Judge Wolff’s term expires on midnight December 31, 2022. Some of the business on his agenda includes a few county commissioners court meetings and plans to go to New York to sell bonds to cover some major projects.