Community mourns Martinez

By Marc Robertson - Editor | January 21, 2026

South Texas icon in grass-roots causes, civil rights

Former county judge died Jan. 10 at 75

Funeral services were held in Cotulla last weekend for Leodoro “Peody” Martinez Jr., who died Saturday, January 10, at the age of 75 after a lengthy illness.

Martinez had been a leading figure in South Texas politics and in grass-roots movements since the early 1970s, and served as a Cotulla councilor and mayor and as La Salle County judge.

The county’s park and sports complex on the outskirts of Cotulla was named after the former judge. His son, Leodoro Martinez III, is presently completing his first term in the same position.

Born on February 15, 1949, Martinez was a lifelong Cotulla resident and took up community causes early in life, beginning with his role as an organizer for the Mexican

American Youth Organization (MAYO), an activist in the Familias Unidas movement and, from the early 1970s onwards, a key leading member of the political party La Raza Unida, which had been founded in Crystal City.

La Raza Unida’s principal goals were to establish a political alternative to the bipartisan system, to focus on the needs of the working class, students and agricultural Hispanic workers, and to combat racial and class discrimination. The party achieved early success in capturing several positions in city and school district elections in Cotulla, Crystal City and Carrizo Springs.

Martinez was elected to the Cotulla City Council at the age of 25 in 1974 and mayor in 1976, the third consecutive Hispanic elected to the office, the third from the Raza Unida Party, and the second youngest in the city’s history.

In 1982, Martinez was elected as the first Latino county judge in La Salle history and continued serving in that position for three terms until 1994, when he was succeeded by Jimmy Patterson.

In the late 1990s, Martinez served three years on the Cotulla ISD Board of Trustees.

Among Martinez’ priorities were civil rights for the underserved populations of South Texas, voting rights, improved access to equal education, and economic development.

After leaving office as county judge, Martinez served nearly 21 years as the executive director of the nine-county Middle Rio Grande Development Council, a position from which he was able directly to affect policies improving the quality of life for South Texas populations by seeking out and administering grant and loan programs derived from state and federal funds aimed at healthcare services, education programs, law enforcement, and a rake of construction projects in infrastructure and public facilities.

A tribute to the late county judge includes testimonials from family, friends and co-workers who noted that “Every day was important to him because there was always another important project ahead and too many that remain unfinished.”

Aware of the potentially far-reaching benefits of the oil exploration across South Texas after surveying began in 2008, Martinez took a leading role in the Eagle Ford Consortium, made up of representatives from 20 counties across the region directly impacted by the development. The organization sought to maximize economic, employment, investment and continuing development opportunities for the communities lying above the oil reserves.

Among Martinez’ final public appearances was as a guest speaker at the November 2024 ribbon-cutting ceremony for the offices of the La Salle County Precinct 3 justice of the peace and constable, a building dedicated to the memory and lifetime achievements of the late Arcenio Garcia, one of Martinez’ contemporaries in the early grass-roots movements in South Texas.

“Not much happened politically and economically that Leodoro didn’t have his hand in,” the testimonial to Martinez read last week, describing the community activist and leader as having “a self-assured and confident voice of reason” and a lifelong “passion for equality and for greater opportunities for an area of Texas that for much too long was known for inequities and unacceptable levels of poverty and discrimination.”

Rosary was recited Friday evening, Jan. 16, at Peters Funeral Home; funeral mass was celebrated Saturday morning at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Cotulla.