By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
County commissioners court has named a recently-opened county annex building after
the late Justice of the Peace Pct. 2 Antonio “Tony” Faz III.
Faz died April 7, and commissioners court members voted to
name the county annex at
315 E. Chapoy St. after him during their most recent regular meeting on April 23. (See story on Faz’s life here.)
After reading the heading of the agenda item, County Judge Lewis G. Owens Jr.
recognized Commissioner Pct. 2 Juan Carlos Vazquez.
“Judge, I’ll make a motion to approve. I want to rename that particular county annex
building in honor of the late Justice of the Peace Antonio Faz. . . . I just wanted to make a
note, the (county branch) library (at the annex) will still be named the same, but as far as
the (rest of the building) complex, I’d like to name it in honor of your dad and your
husband, ma’am,” Vazquez said, speaking to Faz’s widow and two of his children who
were in the audience.
Faz family members in the audience included JoAnn Faz, Faz’s wife; his daughter,
Jessica Stewart; his granddaughter, Addison Stewart; his son, Gerald Faz; and his
daughter-in-law, Monica Faz.
County Commissioner Pct. 1 Kerr Wardlaw gave the second to Vazquez’s motion.
Owens spoke after the motion and second were made.
The county judge said, “It really pains me to say that I’m going to end up voting against
this. Judge Faz – and I just had a conversation with one of his family members – I
remember him making fun of me when I’d wear a t-shirt and he’d say, ‘You’re not
working today, judge?’ and then he’d laugh.
“I’m sure this (motion) will pass, but the facility we’re fixing to name after Judge Faz has
nothing to do with the judiciary. It’s a veterans’ office and a library. The facility behind
us, which, he spent many years there – he ran (for justice of the peace) twice, and I’m
sure he would have run a third time – the second floor, in my opinion, would be better
suited to be named after Judge Faz, for the simple reason that every time his staff comes
to work, they’d get to see his name. They’d remember him, in the facility where he
(worked) for so many years.
Owens said renaming the second floor of the courthouse annex was not on the court’s
meeting agenda, “but I wanted you to know that if the action was taken to name the
second floor (of the courthouse annex) after him, we’d be able to memorialize him on a
daily basis, because we’d see it, and his staff would see it, the (other) JPs would see it.
“It would be something to remember and (for that), my vote would be yes, but (to
rename) a facility that has nothing to do with the judiciary, I can’t vote for it,” Owens
finished.
“I would hope that this vote doesn’t pass, and it would come back, and we would rename
the second floor (of the courthouse annex) after him,” Owens added.
Vazquez commented, “Judge, I’d like to mention one thing. When you (saw) this item on
the agenda, if you’d have reached out to me one single time. . .”
“I called you,” Owens interjected.
“Okay,” Vazquez said.
“I called you, and we talked about the building,” Owens said.
“Again, I’m going to end up voting no. There is a motion, and there is a second. I would
hope that it doesn’t pass and Commissioner Vazquez would bring it back to name the
second floor after him,” Owens said.
He called for the vote, and all four commissioners voted in favor of Vazquez’s motion.
Owens cast the sole vote against the motion.
After the vote, Owens told the family members in the audience,
“Again, I’m so sorry for your loss.”
The writer can be reached at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com .
