SUDDENLY, EVERYONE WANTS TO BE COUNTY JUDGE: CASCOS WANTS TO HAVE HIS CAKE AND EAT IT, TOO

By Juan Montoya
You have Dan Sanchez, Joe Rivera, Tony Martinez, Eddie Treviño, but to name a few.
The acceptance on Veterans Day by incumbent and Cameron County Judge-elect Carlos Cascos to be the Texas Secretary of State on Texas Gov.-elect Greg Abbott's cabinet means that come Jan. 20, there will be  a vacancy on the county commission.
Never mind that Martinez has just announced for re-election for mayor of the City of Brownsville and would have a hard time winning for dog catcher. Or that Treviño is associated with the establishment of the United Brownsville shadow government and is doing just fine as legal counsel for the Public Utilities Board, thank you very much.
How that vacancy will be filled is yet to be determined, but Cascos has told anyone within earshot that he wants to have a say-so in the eventual appointee by casting a vote as a sitting county judge.
"We're going to need someone that can work with the leadership, who wants to continue moving this county in the direction that it's been going, fiscally sound, conservative. It's really a tough job and we need somebody that's got the time to dedicate to it," Cascos said.
Cascos said he feels a responsibility to the voters after being re-elected to a third term. Having said that, however, he is hard pressed to explain how – after having won an election – he is now ready to leave it to take another one in Austin.
The county commission, which includes the county judge, may yet vote to appoint his replacement. But don't hold your breath that the Democratic commissioners will let Cascos have his cake and eat it, too.
The county judge's seat is a four-year term. However, his replacement will hold the position until the next general election in 2016.
When Cascos gets sworn in as a county judge on Jan.1, 2015, he hopes to be able to cast a vote on his successor, But it has yet to be seen whether he has the three votes on the court to allow him to cast that vote.
According to the Texas Association of Counties website, a vacancy in an elected public office occurs when"prior to the expiration of the current term, the officer dies, resigns, abandons office, is judicially removed, or accepts another office that lawfully cannot be simultaneously held with the current office."
Cascos would appear to fit into the last category since one person cannot hold both the position of Secretary of State and a county judge's position.
To maintain the functioning of the government, the Texas Constitution provides that a public official continues to perform the duties for the office (or hold over) until his or her successor takes office. While a holdover, the resigned officer retains all the duties and responsibilities of office and continues to receive the same salary and benefits.
Now, it's no secret that commissioners Dan Sanchez (Pct. 4) and perhaps even Sofia Benavides (Pct. 1) wouldn't turn down an appointment for county judge. And everyone knows that Cascos favors his conservative soul mate David Garza (Pct. 3). About the only new face on the commissioners court is commissioner Alex Dominguez (Pct. 2).
But there's the rub. If any one of these commissioners wants the appointment, they have to resign their positions, "holdover" until their successor is picked by the county judge (Cascos), and serve until their replacement is sworn into office. There is no guarantee, however, that three commissioners (including their replacement) will choose them, leaving them in the lurch.
According to the Texas Election Code, a resignation by Cascos that he is leaving his office must be signed, in writing, and delivered to the appropriate authority for acting on his resignation.
But there is wriggle room here, too.
"May a resignation of a county office be set to take effect at a future date?"
"Yes. It is important to note the date of resignation is effective is not necessarily the same as the date the vacancy is effective. A resignation letter may indicate the vacancy will occur at a future date. For purposes of filling the vacancy, the authority with whom the resignation was filed may appoint upon receipt and acceptance of the resignation and the newly-appointed officer may take office on or after the designated resignation date."
So Cascos may submit a signed letter to the commissioners court indicating he will leave office effective Jan. 20 of 2015. The commissioners may make an appointment once the vacancy is effective, but the newly appointed county judge may not take office until Jan. 20, 2015.
So suppose that Cascos tenders his resignation effective Jan. 20 but tries to have the appointment of a new county judge effective Jan. 20 while he is still in office so he can have a say so in the vote of his successor?
County commissioners court observers say it is highly doubtful that he will be able to garner the three votes necessary to force the commissioners to go along.
On the other hand, the commissioners may wait until Cascos leaves for Austin to be sworn as Texas Secretary of State, and once he is sworn in, and he accepts the office that cannot be held simultaneously, they will make the appointment. The vacancy of county judge is effective on the date the person (Cascos) qualifies for the second office.
Are there any set guidelines on how the commissioners appoint the new office holder?
"No. The commissioners court, county judge, or district judge, as appropriate, may devise the appointment process.
"Some counties, for example, publish a notice of the vacancy in the newspaper with a time period for interested persons to apply. Other counties ask potential appointees to fill out an application to establish their eligibility for the office. Neither is a required practice."
"Is there a requirement to appoint the candidate who came in second in the most recent election for the office to fill the vacancy?"
"No. The person appointed by the commissioners court, county judge, or district judge, as appropriate, must meet the qualifications for the office at the time of the appointment."
That means that even though Joe Rivera came in second to Cascos, it does not mean he has an automatic appointment, even though the four sitting commissioners ran as Democrats. The politicking on his behalf so far has been intense, sources tell us. 
Former Pct. 2 commissioner John Wood said he would entertain the idea of an appointment as county judge with the understanding that he would only serve for two years. He said that whoever is appointed to the position would have to run in four elections in a four-year term.
Since the next general election is in 2016, the appointee will have to run for his party's primary in March, and then for the general election in November. Two years later, he would have to do that all over again.
"That's a lot of campaigning in a short period of time," he said.
Commissioner (Dan) Sanchez has not kept it a secret that he would consider the appointment is he was sure that he had the votes before the resigned.
That has become obvious from the writings of a local blogger who chastised Sanchez (and Dominguez) for not filing affidavits in the local courts which released him to practice law here, as he said was required by law. That blogger (Robert Wightman) filed complaints against them for not complying with that requirement.
However, someone got ot him and now Sanchez is the finest thing since sliced bread.
"For the record I support Dan Sanchez for County Judge.  I know those who have never interviewed him hate him.  But I did have an in depth interview with him, and he knows what needs to get done.  He has studied the economic develop model of San Antonio and Bexar County.  He has met with the architects of that success.  He is more than the new Almighty running for mayor claiming he will cut your taxes while spending more on infrastructure.  Dan Sanchez actually has a plan based on studying real successful economic models for development.  This is what we need.  I would hope rather than trash him my fellow bloggers would sit down with him such as I have and learn what he knows about successful models of economic development."
Such praise coming from someone (a disbarred lawyer, no less) who wanted Sanchez removed from office just a few short weeks ago doesn't pass the smell test with anyone at the county. But at least we know which dogs Sanchez has chosen to lay with.
Is Dan confident of his chances that he will resign to run and take his chances. Remember Dan, Wightman has burned his bridges with Dominguez, Benavides, and Cascos, a majority. To get a recommendation from him amounts to the kiss of death with this majority on the commissioners court.