Ernie Renzel
Ernest Renzel (August 1907 - September 15, 2007) was an American politician who served as the mayor of San Jose, California, from 1945 until 1946.[1] He was known as the "Father of the San Jose International Airport" for his work in establishing a major airport in San Jose.[1]
Early life
Ernie Renzel was born in August 1907. He was a third generation resident of San Jose.[1] Renzel's grandfather, Conrad Renzel, was a San Jose baker. Conrad Renzel gradually expanded his South First Street bakery into a grocery store in the 1860s.[1] Renzel's father, E.H. Renzel Sr., expanded the family business to a wholesale grocery distributor by the 1880s.[1] Renzel Sr. became vice president and manager of the family firm, Keystone Co., by the beginning of the 20th Century.[1]
Renzel was an accomplished athlete during his early years. He actively played basketball, swimming and tennis.[1] He was also active in leadership activities while enrolled at San Jose High School. He served as student body president at the high school and also joined the Rotary Club.[1] He held a perfect attendance at the school.[1] Renzel went on to study economics at Stanford University.[1] He remained with the family grocery business after his academic studies at Stanford.[1] However, he continued to hold a wide range of interests throughout his life including economics, athletics and classical Greek philosophy.[1]
He was married to his wife, Emily Hillebrand for 63 years, before her death in 1999.[1]
San Jose International Aiport
Ernie Renzel became an important advocate for the establishment and development of an aiprort in San Jose. Renzel scouted land for his project. Finally, in the late 1930s, Renzel found suitible land for the airport, which at the time was a ranch, and negotiated a price with the land owner in order to purchase the site.[1] Renzel then lead a city wide ballot measure in 1940, which passed, in order to pay for the land acquisition.[1]
Renzel remained actively involved in the airport, even after its expansion from a municipal airport into San Jose International Airport. He served as airport commissioner from 1969 until 1977.[1] He oversaw much of the expansion of the aiprort during his tenure.
Renzel was honored for his work in establishing San Jose International Airport with a bust dedicated in Terminal C in 1994.[1] In 2004, the airport's airfield, which includes all of the airport's taxiways and runaways, were renamed in his honor.[1]
Political Career
Renzel was introduced to politics during World War II. According to the San Jose Mercury News, in the years before and during World War II, Charlie Bigley, a San Josean taxi operator, was widely viewed as a major political boss in the city.[1] Bigley was seen as consistantly able to get a majority of his supporters elected to the San Jose City Council.[1] However, Bigley's grip on power began to slip during the war. Two incumbent city council members left the government to enlist in the U.S. miliatry during World War II.[1] Their departure left six of the seven city council seats open during the 1944 municipal election.[1]
Bigley's political foes joined forces to form a group called the Progress Committee to counteract Bigley's influence in the election.[1] The committee's campaign manager, Harvey Miller, a lawyer, convinced Ernie Renzel, as well as Albert J. Ruffo and four others, to run as an anti-Bigley ticket slate.[1]
The Progress Committee succeeded. Ernie Renzel was elected in 1944 and was selected as president of the city council in 1945.[1] Renzel also assumed the then-unofficial title of Mayor of San Jose simutaneously.[1] He remained mayor until 1946, when he was succeeded by Al Buffo.[1]
Renzel remained in the city council for just one term.[1] He spent the rest of his career as a "low-profile" citizen of influence in the larger San Jose community.[1] Renzel explained why he chose this lower profile career in an interview in 1980, "Sometimes you can do more from the outside than the inside."[1]
His influence and works extended beyond San Jose City Hall or San Jose International Aiport. He used his influence to purchase a property in the 1960s for the San Jose Historical Landmarks Commission's historical museum.[1]
He was active in San Jose metropolitan area nonprofit groups. He served on the board of directors for such organizations as the San Jose Hospital, the Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury and the Santa Clara County Housing Board.[1]
Death
Ernie Renzel celebrated his 100th birthday in August 2007.[1] He died on September 15, 2007, at his home in San Jose, California.[1]
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