Emmett likely to replace Eckels as county judge

More on the resignation of Harris County Judge Robert Eckels: The Chronicle is reporting that Eckels plans to make tomorrow his last day in office, and it looks like former state Rep. Ed Emmett will take his place. Eckels has "strongly hinted" that he will support Emmett to serve as county judge until an election can be held next year for someone to fill the remaining two years of Eckels' term — an election in which Emmett intends to run. "He will be able to bridge the personal and philosophical differences on the court," Eckels said. "He clearly already has — he has four of the (court members) saying they like him." Indeed, Democratic commissioner El Franco Lee said he'll vote for Emmett if he has the support of Eckels, Eversole and Radack. Even fellow Democrat Sylvia Garcia said she's impressed by Emmett, but indicated she won't vote for him because she doesn't think it's right to appoint a successor who can then use incumbency to his advantage in next year's election.

Emmett, a transportation consultant, grew up in Houston and represented east Harris County in the Texas House from 1979 to 1987. Afterward, he lived in Washington while he was an Interstate Commerce commissioner for four years and president and CEO of the National Industrial Transportation League for 10 (he resigned from that position in 2003, saying he wanted to spend more time back in Texas). The move to support Emmett has drawn fire from Harris County GOP Chairman Jared Woodfill, who threatened to withhold future support for Eckels if he didn't pick a successor who already holds countywide office, like Tax Assessor-Collector Paul Bettencourt or District Clerk Charles Baccarise. But as the Chronicle notes, the county commissioners have locked horns with Bettencourt over the years, and no one has come out and supported Bacarrise. "This is not the time for confrontation among commissioners," Eckels said. "This is a time for consensus and moving forward."

Eckels, you'll remember, announced last month that he would step down after 12 years as Harris County judge, the top elected official in the county, to become a lobbyist with high-powered law firm Fulbright & Jaworski. His decision to resign came just over three months after he was elected to another four-year term.