Political Career
Renzel was introduced to city politics during World War II. According to the San Jose Mercury News, Charlie Bigley, a San Josean ambulance company 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.
Bigley's political foes joined forces to form a group called the Progress Committee to counteract Bigley's influence in the upcoming election. The committee's campaign manager, lawyer Harvey Miller, convinced Ernie Renzel, as well as Albert J. Ruffo and four other important San Josean figures, to run as an anti-Bigley ticket.
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.
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."
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.
He was actively involved in several San Jose metropolitan area and Santa Clara County nonprofit groups throughout his lifetime. 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.
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