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Editor’s note: Williamson County Commissioners appointed Steven Snell as the next county judge on March 27. Read the full story here.
Following Bill Gravell's resignation as Williamson County judge on March 11, county commissioners met on March 14 to discuss the process for selecting his replacement.
What happens next?
During the hour-long meeting, the court agreed candidates interested in the vacant position must send a resume and cover letter to each commissioner over the next week.
On March 25, each commissioner will propose three candidates and select who to interview, a county official said. If there’s only one candidate, the court could take action, Precinct 3 Commissioner Valerie Covey said.
Candidate interviews will begin during a special meeting March 27 at 2:30 p.m. in the Williamson County Courthouse, where commissioners will take action on appointing the next county judge, she said.
Gravell resigned as county judge March 11 to accept a role in President Donald Trump's administration with the U.S. Small Business Administration in the Office of Advocacy as the Region 6 advocate, according to previous Community Impact reporting.
Also on the agenda
The meeting also called for commissioners to discuss amending the policies of commissioners court in the event of a county judge’s absence. As the most senior member of the court, Covey is the presiding officer in the case of a county judge’s absence, according to county documents.
Precinct 4 Commissioner Russ Boles said the policy’s current language does not accurately reflect the court’s present state.
“The county judge is not absent,” Boles said. “The county judge is non-existent.”
Boles said until the next county judge is selected, the presiding officer role should rotate weekly between commissioners to allow for “proper representation.” Boles said appointing Gravell’s replacement could take one week or until the next general election in November 2026.
“I don’t see us set up to have one presiding officer for however long this process takes,” Boles said. “I don't think this [is] representative of and fair to our citizens and fair to the seat.”
Precinct 2 Commissioner Cynthia Long said she doesn’t foresee replacing the county judge being a months-long process.
The debate
County Auditor Julie Kiley said her staff has spent a week reprogramming financial software to allow one presiding officer to approve purchase orders and payroll items.
“It can't be assigned to a job and be rotated daily or weekly,” Kiley said. “It's got to be a person.”
Boles said he believes software can be adjusted to cooperate with rotating presiding officers.
“Not one of us has been elected county judge, right?” Boles said. “I think we can split the duties of the signatory so that our software works with the presiding officer. I don't know why that can't rotate.”
Covey said it would be a less efficient government if each commissioner rotates as the presiding judge.
“It's not because I'm serving in this role, it's because I've seen what happens,” Covey said. “The continuity of government, I think, is the key thing here.”
The action taken
Boles motioned for each commissioner to serve as presiding officer through a weekly rotation until a new county judge is appointed, which failed in a 2-2 vote after Covey and Long voted against it.
Long motioned to change the county’s language to specify in the absence or vacancy of a county judge, the most senior commissioner will serve as presiding officer and shall serve as the authorized signatory.
Long’s motion passed 3-1, with Boles voting against it.
One more thing
Commissioners also officially accepted Gravell’s resignation at the meeting.
