Still no clear plan for judge appointment
Burnet County commissioners are expected to discuss how to proceed with appointing a new county judge after a tie vote left the position vacant. The next Commissioners Court meeting is March 11. Staff photo by Elizabeth De Los Santos
Burnet County commissioners took no solid action on the appointment of a new county judge during the Commissioners Court meeting Tuesday, Feb. 25. The commissioners are reassessing the appointment process and considering different options moving forward. A plan for how to proceed with a selection could be discussed at the next meeting, which is March 11 at the Burnet County Courthouse in Burnet.
All of the commissioners shared their thoughts on the matter with DailyTrib.com after the Tuesday meeting.
The judge position has been vacant since the resignation of former County Judge James Oakley. Oakley officially stepped down Jan. 2, a few weeks after receiving a public reprimand from the Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct regarding the commission’s findings of sexual harassment.
The Commissioners Court is responsible for appointing a temporary judge to fill the role until the current elected term ends in 2026, but the selection process stalled out Feb. 11 with a deadlocked 2-to-2 vote by commissioners on the applicants.
Three applicants filed for the temporary county judge appointment: former District Judge Gil Jones, Burnet County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Alan Trevino, and former state administrator Bryan Wilson. Precinct 1 Commissioner Jim Luther and Precinct 4 Commissioner Joe Don Dockery chose Jones, while Precinct 2 Commissioner Damon Beierle and Precinct 3 Commissioner Chad Collier voted for Trevino.
Since the Feb. 11 vote, no decision has been made on how to break the tie. Commissioners met again in executive session Feb. 25 to seek legal counsel on the matter but did not deliberate or establish a new appointment process.
LEGAL COUNSEL: NO SET RULES FOR NEXT STEPS
The Burnet County Attorney’s Office confirmed with DailyTrib.com that no legal precedent exists for handling the deadlock. First Assistant County Attorney Colleen Davis explained that state law mandates commissioners appoint a county judge but does not specify how they must do so.
“The statute says the commissioners court appoints, it doesn’t say how,” she said. “There is no legal guidance, case law, or binding opinion on this. It’s up to (commissioners) to decide the process and vote on it.”
Among the possibilities commissioners could consider, Davis noted, are reopening the application process, voting again, exploring a tiebreaker method, or even leaving the seat vacant until the next election in November 2026. With no county judge in place, Precinct 2 Commissioner Damon Beierle has been functioning as the head of the court, a position to which he was appointed by his fellow commissioners.
COMMISSIONERS’ PERSPECTIVES ON MOVING FORWARD
DailyTrib.com spoke to the four Burnet County commissioners about the next steps.
Precinct 1 Commissioner Jim Luther: “We are working through the process, and I expect it to be on the next agenda.”
Precinct 2 Commissioner Damon Beierle: “What I plan to do is put an agenda item on the next agenda to bring (the appointment process) up and discuss any and all possible options. We’re going to do it all under an agenda item in open court.”
Precinct 3 Commissioner Chad Collier: “We are working towards a solution. There is no statute or rule that says, ‘Here’s what you need to do in this situation.’ So we’re working through that and covering our bases.”
Precinct 4 Commissioner Joe Don Dockery: “Personally, I would like to see one of the two (commissioners) change their vote for Gil Jones so that we can get off dead center.”
WHY COMMISSIONERS VOTED THE WAY THEY DID
Each commissioner had different reasons for their Feb. 11 votes. Commissioner Luther did not provide a comment on his vote for Jones.
Beierle (voted for Trevino): “Alan’s been at the county, and I think he’ll do a good job leading the county just like he’s done at the sheriff’s department. When I talk to my constituents, they all agree and support my decision.”
Collier (voted for Trevino): “He has honesty and integrity, is a man of his word, and is somebody who has been in the courtroom almost every Commissioners Court meeting and is up to date. There won’t be a learning curve. He can hit the ground running, and we won’t miss a beat. That’s what I’m looking for in a county judge, and I think that’s why Trevino stands out a little more than the other two.”
Dockery (voted for Jones): “He checks all the boxes. For one, he does not want to run in the 2026 primaries, which is something I wanted from the beginning. He’s a licensed CPA, was our first district judge in the 33rd Judicial District, and served for 16 years. He has the judicial background and can go to work on day one without a learning curve. That’s going to be important with the county in the middle of big projects.”
8 thoughts on “Still no clear plan for judge appointment”
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If Oakley’s two holdover Commissioners have truly dug in their heels behind Gil Jones, I’d rather that we limp along with no Judge, four Commissioners, which means a tied CC on many issues, until Chief Deputy Alan Trevino wins the 2026 Primary. That’s better than either of the other two interim candidates.
At 81, Gil Jones is way past Judge retirement age, and Brian Wilson has little knowledge of our county. Nice guy, but has not attended Commissioners Court, and seems markedly incurious about our situation. How did the 61st largest county in Texas wind up so much in debt? Where did the money go? When Mr Wilson and I spoke today, he indicated no interest in finding out how we got here, referred to it as “getting into the weeds.” I disagree strongly. We need someone who will dig into the weeds, and pull out the noxious ones.
We need a strong administrative leader who will dive into the books and find out why we are $36M in debt. When Oakley was elected, we had only $2M in dept. Sure, we bought the jail, and finally it’s running in the black (under Chief Deputy Trevino’s leadership), but that’s only roughly half of our debt. We need to find out where the other $16M went, and if there was any fraud involved.
We need to clean up Burnet County. Note that a Texas County Judge is only a judge in name. The great majority of his responsibilities are administrative and managerial.
Is there anyone in Precinct 4 who can run against Commissioner Dockery? Hasn’t Commissioner Dockery been in the same elected office since 2007?
Seriously. This is burnet county. You usually do not get opponents taking on the incumbents.
Dockery has to go!
This county needs an Elon Musk. With Trevino you will have someone that doesn’t have ties and hasn’t been in this county forever. If you pay attention to this counties leaders you could have bet money on who would have voted for Jones. Thanks to the two commissioners that voted for Trevino. Hang tight. A lot of the county want him as judge.
Exactly.
Agree on Trevino if they go forward, otherwise just leave as is with Beierle conducting the meetings and filling the spot until a primary.
Looks to me that once again they are split on who will fill the seat and none seem to want to budge. That leaves a tie breaker with no predetermined method to do so. Simple solution. Put the two candidates names in a hat. 4 slips per. Shake it up. Let each commissioner take a draw. If you get a 3 to 1 or 4/0 draw that is your winner. If there is a tie. Repeat the steps.