El Paso County names annex after former county attorney and state senator José R. Rodriguez

The El Paso County Commissioners Court voted July 27 to rename the county annex that houses the county attorney’s office after former county attorney and state senator José R. Rodriguez and authorized up to $5,000 from the general fund toward signage and naming expenses, with the court also accepting public donations for the cost of an unveiling.

Commissioner David Stout moved the naming resolution and the motion carried after a second and an open vote. The resolution, read into the record by court staff, recounted Rodriguez’s service as county attorney and later as the state senator representing District 29 and said the renaming was to honor his decades of public service to El Paso County.

“You don’t do this after somebody dies — it makes me feel very humble,” Rodriguez told the court at the podium, drawing laughter when he added, “I told them, ‘I’m not dead yet.’” Several former staff and local leaders then delivered tributes. Joanne Bernal, a former county attorney who participated by video, called Rodriguez “a humble servant” who led by example. Eddie Sosa, a longtime assistant and member of Rodriguez’s staff, described the senator’s mentorship; University Medical Center general counsel Daniel Collins highlighted Rodriguez’s legislative work on health‑care and legal‑aid funding.

The court also approved a related agenda item authorizing the county to accept donations toward naming costs and to transfer $5,000 into public works administrative accounts to support fabrication and installation of building signage. County staff said the court will announce an unveiling date after final designs are complete.

The action follows lengthy remarks from community members who credited Rodriguez with building institutions, mentoring generations of public servants, and securing legislation that benefited El Paso’s health and justice systems.