James Walton Fonteno

Biography

Fonteno, born July 2, 1926, in Port Arthur, Texas, was one of 7 children of Walton and Lula Mae Fontenot. Raised on the bayous in Port Arthur, 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.

Political life

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.

In 1968 Fonteno was appointed a Commissioner for the Houston Ship Channel, one of the largest ports in the U.S.

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" and "The Peacemaker".
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

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

Honors

In 2002, Members of the United States Congress named the Main U.S. Post Office in Pasadena, Texas, “The Jim Fonteno Post Office.”

Also in 2002, Harris County Commissioners named the new County Courthouse, the "Jim Fonteno Courthouse".

In 2005, Harris County Commissioners named a 100+ acre park the Jim & Joann Fonteno Family Park