Ernie Renzel

Ernie Renzel celebrated his 100th birthday in August 2007. He died on September 15, 2007, at his home in San Jose.

He was married to his wife, Emily Hillebrand for 63 years, until her death in 1999.

Renzel was honored for his work in establishing Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport with a bust of his image, which was dedicated in Terminal C in 1994. In 2004, the airport's airfield, which includes all of the airport's taxiways and runways, were renamed in his honor.

Renzel remained in the city council for just one term in office. He spent the rest of his career as a "low-profile" citizen of influence in the larger San Jose community. Renzel explained why he chose this lower profile career in a 1980 interview, "Sometimes you can do more from the outside than the inside."

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. He oversaw much of the expansion of the airport during his tenure as commissioner.

His influence and works extended beyond San Jose City Hall or San Jose International Airport. For example, Renzel used his influence to purchase a property in the 1960s for the San Jose Historical Landmarks Commission's historical museum.

Renzel was introduced to city politics during World War II. According to the San Jose Mercury News, Charlie Bigley, a San Josean taxi operator, was a major political boss in San Jose in the years before and during World War II. Bigley was consistently able to get a majority of his supporters elected to the San Jose City Council. However, Bigley's grip on power began to slip during the war. Two incumbent city council members left the city government in order to enlist in the U.S. military during World War II. Their departure left six of the seven city council seats open during the 1944 San Jose municipal election.

The Progress Committee succeeded. Ernie Renzel was elected in 1944 and was selected as president of the city council in 1945. Renzel also assumed the then-unofficial title of Mayor of San Jose simultaneously. He remained mayor until 1946, when he was succeeded by Al Ruffo.

Ernie Renzel became an important advocate for the establishment and development of a new airport to serve San Jose and the surrounding region. Renzel personally scouted land for his project. Renzel located a suitable site, which at the time was a ranch, for the future airport in the late 1930s. He negotiated a price with the ranch owner in order to purchase the land. Renzel then championed a citywide ballot measure in 1940, which passed, in order to pay for the land acquisition.

Ernest E. Renzel (August 7, 1907 – September 15, 2007) was an American politician who served as the mayor of San Jose, California, from 1945 until 1946. He was known as the "Father of the Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport" for his work in establishing a major airport in the city.

Ernie Renzel was born as a third-generation resident of San Jose. His grandfather, Conrad Renzel, was a San Jose baker who gradually expanded his South First Street bakery into a grocery store in the 1860s. Renzel's father, E.H. Renzel Sr., further expanded the family business to a wholesale grocery distributor by the 1880s. Renzel Sr. would become vice president and manager of the family grocery firm, Keystone Co., by the turn of the 20th century.