Bruce Bugg, chair of the Texas Transportation Commission, dead at 70

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San Antonio banker James Bruce Bugg Jr., passed away Wednesday morning following complications from a back surgery, sources close to Bugg confirmed.

He was 70 years old.

Bugg, who was serving in his second term on the Texas Transportation Commission, was one of the most prominent San Antonians named to a significant statewide post in recent years.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott appointed him to the commission in 2015 and Bugg was named chairman two years later. His term was set to expire in 2027.

Bugg also served as chair and trustee of the Tobin Endowment, was a co-founder of the Bexar County Performing Arts Center Foundation, which owns the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts.

That’s in addition to his role as chair, CEO and president of Southwest Bancshares, the holding company for Texas Partners Bank.

“Bruce’s impact on our community cannot be overstated,” said Michael J. Fresher, president and CEO of the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, in a statement Wednesday. “Bruce was the visionary force behind the creation and evolution of The Tobin Center. His vision, relentless work ethic, and determined leadership brought our institution to life and set it on a path of enduring success.”

The Texas Transportation Commission oversees the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), and in recent years, chairing the commission put Bugg at odds with local officials fighting with the agency over plans for a pedestrian corridor on Broadway Street.

“Anyone who’s in that arena is going to have slinging arrows thrown at them,” said Tullos Wells, former managing director at Kronkosky Charitable Foundation and a close friend of Bugg. “He had his share, but he was fearless in terms of deciding what the right thing to do was, and then going ahead doing it.”

Bugg previously served as a senior adviser to then-Gov. Rick Perry and chaired the Texas Economic Development Corporation.

“He worked in that sort of Republican political arena, but he was certainly not a demagogue about anything ever,” Wells said. “He was an eminently reasonable, bring-people-together kind of guy.”

Abbott said in a statement Wednesday he and his wife, Cecilia, were “heartbroken” by the sudden loss of a “close, personal friend.”

“[Bugg’s] vision and leadership reshaped the future of Texas,” Abbott said. “He helped redesign our state’s infrastructure not just for today — but for the next 50 years.”

Bugg was born in Missouri in October of 1954. He was an Eagle Scout and attended Southern Methodist University in Dallas for both his undergraduate and law degrees.

He is survived by wife Alethea Bugg and his two sons, Jim and Tom.

Disclosure: Southern Methodist University has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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