Patrice Melancon

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Patrice Melancon

Nonpartisan

San Antonio River Authority Bexar County At-large

Tenure

2024 - Present

Term ends

2025

Years in position

1

Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 4, 2025

Education

Bachelor's

University of Southwestern Louisiana, 1988

Graduate

University of Texas, Austin, 1999

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Air Force Reserve

Years of service

1988 - 2021

Personal

Birthplace

California

Religion

Christian

Profession

Civil engineer

Patrice Melancon is a member of the San Antonio River Authority in Texas, representing Bexar County At-large. She assumed office on January 1, 2024.

Melancon won re-election to the San Antonio River Authority to represent Bexar County At-large in Texas outright after the general election scheduled on November 4, 2025, was canceled.

Biography

Patrice Melancon was born in California. She served in the U.S. Air Force Reserve from 1988 to 2021. Melancon earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Southwestern Louisiana in 1988 and a graduate degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1999. Her career experience includes working as a civil engineer. Melancon has been a board member of the San Antonio River Foundation and has been affiliated with the Society of American Military Engineers, Academy of Fellows, Alliance Francaise de San Antonio, and the University of Texas Civil, Arch, Environmental Engineering Academy of Distinguished Alumni and External Advisory Committee.

Elections

2025

See also: Municipal elections in Bexar County, Texas (2025)

General election

The general election was canceled. Patrice Melancon (Nonpartisan) won without appearing on the ballot.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.

2023

See also: Municipal elections in Bexar County, Texas (2023)

General election

General election for San Antonio River Authority Bexar County At-large (2 seats)

Liza Gonzalez Barratachea and Patrice Melancon defeated Dan Rossiter, Joel Solis, and Joseph Yglesias in the general election for San Antonio River Authority Bexar County At-large on November 7, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Liza Gonzalez Barratachea (Nonpartisan)	26.6	36,879
✔		Patrice Melancon (Nonpartisan)	23.0	31,901
		Dan Rossiter (Nonpartisan)	21.7	30,017
		Joel Solis (Nonpartisan)	16.6	23,048
	Submit photo	Joseph Yglesias (Nonpartisan)	12.1	16,767

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 138,612
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Melancon in this election.

Campaign themes

2025

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Patrice Melancon did not complete Ballotpedia's 2025 Candidate Connection survey.

2023

Patrice Melancon completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Melancon's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I retired in 2021 as a Brigadier General after 33 years of service in the US Air Force and Air Force Reserves. I was activated 3 times for one year or more, including for a year in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks. I bring 35 years of engineering experience, with focuses on water resources and construction, along with strong leadership and management skills. I have a masters in Water Resources Engineering and spent 15 years finding solutions to flood control, water supply/distribution, wastewater collection, and stormwater issues for municipalities and river authorities in Central Texas. I also worked for the San Antonio River Authority for 3 years (2106-2019) as the Engineering Department Manager, so am familiar with the Authority’s operation and how they work with the Board to best serve the public.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• As a retired Brigadier General, I can bring exceptional leadership to this office. I have always had a servant's attitude towards everything I participate in.
• I have the technical expertise to be most effective. With a master's degree in Water Resources Engineering and 15 years of subject matter experience supporting municipalities and river authorities in central Texas, there are not many others who can bring this level of expertise to bear.
• I've had a very successful work career. I bring a seasoned maturity to my next chapter and I desire to use my experience to benefit my community. Of all the opportunities available, this one is a perfect fit. I hope you will agree and allow me the privilege to serve in this way.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I'm interested in leveraging my capabilities to help ensure we are spending our public monies in the most effecient and effective way that we can when it comes to providing a safe, clean, and enjoyable San Antonio River.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Leadership, honesty, integrity, hard-working

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

I distinctly remember the morning that the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded. I was in the student union at University of Southwestern Louisiana (now the University of Louisiana, Lafayette). This was well before the age of cell phones and I just remember the news slowly rippling from one person to the other and then just a quiet as we all took in what this meant. It was a very somber day on campus.I would have been about 21 years old.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I had a paper route when I was in 6th or 7th grade - for about 2 years. In 9th grade, I started working after school at the pediatric dentist that my mom worked for. I worked every day after school for about 2 hours - I did this for 3 years. Then I spent a year working for a friend's mother in their trophy shop - every day after school for about 2 hours. I really don't really remember a time when I didn't have a job.

What is your favorite book? Why?

As a kid, I loved Nancy Drew - she was my hero! As an adult, I'm still a total sucker for a murder mystery. I particularly enjoy series where you can get to know characters. I loved Louise Penny (Inspector Gamache), Jacqueline Winspear (Maisie Dobbs), and Deborah Crombie (Inspector Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James) to name a few.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

I won't answer this, but I will tell you that I'm a total fan of the 70's music - Billy Joel, Elton John, The Eagles, The Rolling Stones, Kansas, Boston,Foreigner, Journey, Steeley Dan, Boz Skaggs, I could go on and on...........

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

That is a very personal question that I am not going to share information about. Each and every one of us has had difficulties that we have had to overcome. I don't believe sharing that with the general public will shed any additonal information that would reflect positively on my abilities to be effective in this office.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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