SAN ANTONIO — Service and a love for San Antonio are nothing new for Bexar County Commissioner Paul Elizondo.
"When I first came back from the Marine Corps, San Antonio had 800,000 people. Now it's double that size,” said Elizondo, Bexar County Commissioner, Precinct 2.
After 18 years as music teacher and band director, he served in the Texas legislature before taking his seat on Commissioners Court in 1982.
"We've got a great working relationship. We've done so many projects together," said Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff.
One of those projects even ended up with his name on it. But for Elizondo, his proudest accomplishments were in health care.
"The renovation of the Robert B. Green, it's beautiful now. They were going to close it when I came. Now we have a great downtown clinic,” Elizondo said.
In recent years, Elizondo helped shape projects like downtown's Tobin Center and the ongoing San Pedro Creek improvements.
Some efforts even stretch much farther than downtown.
"I think the biggest project we did was the river south. It was the largest ecological restoration of an urban river in the United States. It lead to the designation of the World Heritage Site for the Missions,” added Wolff.
According to Wolff, their efforts led to about $500 million in flood control that saved countless lives and property.
As for slowing down, Elizondo had this to say:
"No! In fact I'm going to go out and try out for the ninja thing. I'm kidding of course!”
There's no break scheduled just yet.