Jon Lindsay, the longest-serving Harris County judge, dies at 90 | Houston Public Media

Former Harris County Judge Jon Lindsay died on Wednesday morning. He was 90 years old.

No information was immediately available regarding his cause of death.

Lindsay, who served a record 20 years as Harris County’s chief executive, had a transformational effect on the county on issues ranging from transportation to health care.

Lindsay was elected Harris County judge in 1974 as a moderate Republican, defeating incumbent Democrat Bill Elliot. At the time of Lindsay’s first election, Democrats dominated Harris County Commissioners Court.

“Jon Lindsay is, in my mind, the person most responsible for putting Harris County on a very sound financial footing and bringing it into the modern age,” said Ed Emmett, one of Lindsay’s successors, who now serves as a fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.

Emmett said he considered the construction of the Harris County toll road system to be Lindsay’s greatest accomplishment in office.

“I know some people still don’t like toll roads,” Emmett said, “but if you didn’t have those toll roads, we wouldn’t have the county road system that we have, and the property taxes would be a whole lot higher.”

Flood control was another high priority for Lindsay, according his immediate successor as county judge, Robert Eckels, whose father served with Lindsay as a county commissioner.

“It was a series of parks, working with the commissioner to build the parks in the flood zone areas,” Eckels said. “It’s Collins Park. It’s Meyer Park. It’s part of flood control to be acquiring land for park purposes that would also serve flood control purposes.”

In addition, Lindsay oversaw the construction of LBJ and Ben Taub hospitals. He supported increased funding for Children’s Protective Services. He also played a key role in modernizing the county’s mental health care system, including the construction of a joint state and county psychiatric facility.

“To put it succinctly, he was one of the first people who said, ‘You know, mental health is just another health issue,'” said Emmett, who credited Lindsay for laying the groundwork for his own focus in office on mental health care. “And so rather than having it stigmatized like it used to be, he tried to coordinate an effort that would get people the help they needed.”

Born on Dec. 4, 1935, in Santa Fe, N.M., Lindsay graduated from New Mexico State University in 1959 with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. After serving three years in the U.S. Air Force, he moved to Houston and formed his own construction company.

“He brought an engineer’s mind to everything he did,” Emmett said. “And so, when there was a problem that came up, whether it was where to build a road or how to address a particular issue, he always came at it, not from a great philosophical, partisan point of view, but how do we solve this problem.”

Lindsay announced on Aug. 1, 1993, that he would not seek reelection, following accusations of taking bribes and an investigation by the Harris County Attorney’s Office. He served through 1994. Two years later, he was elected to the Texas Senate to represent Texas District 7, the seat now held by Republican state Sen. Paul Bettencourt. While in the Senate, Lindsay led efforts to create freight rail districts with the ability to issue bonds.

“He was able to work as a minority member of bodies, and he was able to work across the aisle with Democrats and solve problems for the state of Texas, just as he did here in Harris County,” Emmett said.

Lindsay served in the Texas Senate for 10 years, deciding not to seek reelection in 2006. In retirement, he served as president of the nonprofit North Houston Association.

Lindsay is survived by his three sons, Steve, Leslie Jon (L. Jon), and Larry, and by two grandchildren. Tonita “Tony” Lee Davis Lindsay, his wife of more than 65 years and a former state civil district court judge, died in March 2024.

“My last conversation with Jon was that he was feeling very old and very much missed his dancing partner,” Eckels said. “I like to think, today, that he and Tony are back together, dancing again.”