James Walton Fonteno
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| James Walton Fonteno | |
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| Born | July 2, 1926 Port Arthur, Texas |
| Died | June 30, 2008 (aged 81) Houston, Texas, Texas, USA |
| Occupation | County Commissioner, Harris County, TX |
| Spouse | Joann Fonteno |
| Website | |
| http://www.ilasting.com/jimfonteno.php | |
James "Jim" W. Fonteno (July 2, 1926 – June 30, 2008) was a former County Commissioner in Harris County, Texas and Municipal Court Judge in Baytown, Texas.
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[edit] Biography
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This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability. |
Jim Fonteno, born July 2, 1926 in Port Arthur, Texas was one of 6 children of Walton and Lula Mae Fontenot. Raised on the bayou's in Port Arthur, TX, he became the most outspoken of his siblings, becoming a judge and county commissioner. Fonteno joined the Merchant Marines and later the Army and received an Honorable Discharge.
[edit] Political life
Municipal Court Judge - Baytown, Texas[1] Fonteno was appointed as Municipal Court Judge in Baytown, Texas, in the latter part of the 1950s before moving to Houston in the early 1960s.
Port Commissioner - Port of Houston - Houston, Texas In 1968 Fonteno was appointed a Commissioner for the Houston Ship Channel, one of the largest ports in the U.S. (a position his son James Fonteno Jr. holds today).
County Commissioner - Harris County, Texas In 1973, a group of businessmen approached Fonteno and asked him to run for County Commissioner - during an era of severe Harris County government corruption and financial mismanagement. Fonteno became a County Commissioner in 1974 with the intent of serving for two or possibly three terms - he stayed for 7 terms, serving a total of 28 years. He was credited for cleaning up Harris County politics during the mid-1970s and 1980s and became known as "The Dean"[2] and "The Peacemaker".[3][4]
Fonteno left office in 2002 after 28 years in office, due to Parkinson's disease.
Fonteno is credited with starting a Senior Citizen program that was later copied in counties throughout the USA[2][5][6]
Harris County threw a retirement party for Fonteno in 2002 - 4,000 people showed up to the party held on the floor of the Astrodome[7][8]
[edit] Honors
In 2002, Members of the United States Congress named the Main U.S. Post Office in Pasadena, Texas, “The Jim Fonteno Post Office.”[9][10]
[11]
Also in 2002, Harris County Commissioners named the new County Courthouse, the "Jim Fonteno Courthouse".[12]
In 2005, Harris County Commissioners named a 100+ acre park the Jim & Joann Fonteno Family Park [13]
[edit] Notes
- ^ "The Baytown Sun". The Baytown Sun. 2008-07-05. http://baytownsun.com/story.lasso?ewcd=a60e47658ff100fd. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
- ^ a b "Ex-Harris Co. Commissioner Fonteno dies | TOP STORIES | KHOU.com | News for Houston, Texas". KHOU.com. 2008-07-01. http://www.khou.com/topstories/stories/khou080630_tj_fonteno.e7bacf3.html. Retrieved 2009-08-03.[dead link]
- ^ "News, search and shopping from the Houston Chronicle". Chron.com. 2002-12-26. http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2002_3612730. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
- ^ (2008-07-01). "Former Harris County Commissioner Jim Fonteno has passed away - 7/01/08 - Houston News - abc13.com". Abclocal.go.com. http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=6237421. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
- ^ http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/R?r107:FLD001:H53621
- ^ http://ftp.resource.org/gpo.gov/record/2002/2002_H03621.pdf
- ^ "Houston salutes retiring Precinct 2 commissioner > Import Archives > Houston Community Newspapers Online - News Around Town". Hcnonline.com. 2002-11-20. http://www.hcnonline.com/articles/2002/11/20/import/20021120-archive121.txt. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
- ^ "Seniors gather to honor, say goodbye to retiring Commissioner Jim Fonteno > Import Archives > Houston Community Newspapers Online - News Around Town". Hcnonline.com. 2002-11-24. http://www.hcnonline.com/articles/2002/11/24/import/20021124-archive13.txt. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
- ^ http://www.thomas.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c107:H.R.4717.ENR:
- ^ http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d107:h.r.04717:
- ^ "107th Congress: Bill H R 4717 | Congressional votes database | washingtonpost.com". Projects.washingtonpost.com. http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/107/bills/h_r_4717/. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
- ^ "Courthouse annex renamed after Fonteno > Import Archives > Houston Community Newspapers Online - News Around Town". Hcnonline.com. 2002-02-12. http://www.hcnonline.com/articles/2002/10/23/import/20021023-archive248.txt. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
- ^ "County dedicates Fonteno Park > Import Archives > Houston Community Newspapers Online - News Around Town". Hcnonline.com. http://www.hcnonline.com/articles/2006/06/07/import/20060607-archive329.txt. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
