Larry McKaskle, who represented the residents of District A in northwest Houston on City Council for 22 years, died Saturday. He was 89.

McKaskle first ran for the council in 1961, then worked for three years as an aide to former Mayor Louie Welch before being elected to the District A seat in 1969.

He served with Welch and mayors Fred Hofheinz, Jim McConn and Kathy Whitmire during his 22-year tenure, before losing to challenger Helen Huey in 1991, the same year Houston voters instituted term limits — an initiative McKaskle had backed as early as 1985.

“A person should not spend as long in office as I did,” McKaskle said after the loss. “Had I been one of the voters, I would have voted the same way.”

Described at the time as “a government minimalist,” McKaskle favored more police, better roads, lower city budgets and fewer powers for the mayor in Houston’s strong-mayor system. He opposed a failed plan to increase the council by eight members, a garbage fee and increases to tax and water rates.

McKaskle critiqued each mayor he served under, but his feud with Whitmire led him to briefly organize a challenge to her in 1983. The campaign disbanded for lack of funds. McKaskle also ran twice for Congress and three times for county commissioner.

Upon his political retirement, McKaskle said he was proud to have helped organize a referendum to create the Harris County Hospital District and helped the city acquire the land that became Cullen Park.

Jim Greenwood, whose tenure on the council overlapped with McKaskle’s for a decade, recalled him as a hard worker who was prepared for meetings, always punctual, and attentive to public speakers who came to air grievances before the council.

“Not everyone on council necessarily paid the same attention. Larry was one of the ones that did,” Greenwood said. “He was a dedicated public servant.”

Former Councilman Anthony Hall, who also served for a decade alongside McKaskle, said the council member did not view himself as a rubber stamp for any mayor, but approached his opposition in a civil manner that differed greatly from today’s political vitriol.

“I found him to be an honorable man and, though we sometimes did not agree, we were never disagreeable,” he said. “Larry was what you’d call a traditional council member during that period of time, and he was very attentive to constituent service issues in his district.”

A Mississippi native, McKaskle joined the Air Force after graduating from high school in Michigan and was stationed at Randolph Air Force base in San Antonio. He then made his way to Houston, where he was a real estate investor and pursued other business ventures, such as manufacturing exercise equipment.

McKaskle is survived by his son and daughter and four grandchildren, as well as his brother and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his wife of 50 years, Doris, and his three sisters.

Services are planned for Dec. 7 through Woodlawn Funeral Home & Cemetery, beginning at 9 a.m.

mike.morris@chron.com