Steve Floyd Appointed Tom Green County Judge

The Tom Green County Commissioners’ Court voted unanimously to appoint former County Commissioner Steve Floyd to the position of County Judge this morning at the regularly scheduled court meeting.

Open speculation that the court would appoint Floyd as judge has circulated for weeks after the current County Judge Mike Brown announced his early retirement.

Judge Brown introduced the agenda item with, “Well I think we have to appoint a new county judge.”  Commissioner Ralph Hoelscher (Pct. 1) made to motion to appoint and Commissioner Bill Ford (Pct. 4) seconded.

Floyd takes the reigns at the county at one minute past midnight on Dec. 1.

The well-orchestrated transition of power at the county had to be carefully scripted to allow Brown and the court to name its successor. Texas laws require, for example, that an appointee for judge not be currently serving on the court. Hence, at the last commissioners’ court meeting, Floyd stepped down as the Precinct 3 commissioner. Brown named Rick Bacon as Floyd’s replacement as commissioner. Brown himself had to time the date of his departure to reside within the legal time limits until the next election to allow an appointment of a replacement and to avoid a special election.

“We’ve had several people come forward and offer themselves to serve as county judge. That certainly shows that there are several people interested in serving as county judge and we appreciate that.  And after all the considerations, I’d like to ask the commissioners of Tom Green County to appoint Steve Floyd as our next judge,” Hoelscher said in making the motion to appoint.

After the unanimous vote of appointment, Floyd addressed the court, thanking them for placing their trust, and the trust of the people in his hands. “And I want to especially thank my wife, Asyna, for agreeing to let this happen. And I promise you that I will continue to need her support because it’s certainly going to be a challenge and take a lot of time. I look forward to it!”

With this appointment, the stage is set for Floyd to run for election to judge as an incumbent in the Nov. 2014 election cycle, giving him an advantage over the only other announced opponent for the Republican primary, Richard Easingwood. Had he not been appointed judge, state law would have forced Floyd to resign his commission (as a commissioner), and undertake the election process while unemployed.

Floyd denies that there was a smoky backroom deal for what many observers see as a well orchestrated change-of-command at the county. “Well, first of all, smoking is not allowed in any of the county buildings,” Floyd quipped.

There’s not going to be any immediate changes at the county, according to Floyd. “I think it’s probably premature, there are no changes that I know of at this point in time,” Floyd said. “Fortunately, we’re just starting a fresh budget year, so most of any major changes or reorganization takes place during our budget process that doesn’t start until next June,” he said.

Floyd is a fan of his predecessor’s short meetings and agendas. “I think brevity is a virtue,” Floyd said. Offering a slight glimpse into a future Judge Floyd agenda during next year’s budget cycle, he said that the county needs to address how we fund road and bridge projects. He wasn’t more specific.

Floyd indicated that he will announce his campaign for election for the next term as judge within the upcoming weeks.