The Dimmit County Commissioners Court voted to appoint Claudia McDaniel as county clerk to fill an unexpired term after holding executive-session interviews, court proceedings show.

County Judge Mayotte told the court he contacted TAC legal counsel Tramer Womack before the meeting; Womack advised that convening an executive session for personnel matters was appropriate under the Texas Government Code. The court then conducted private interviews of applicants before returning to open session and taking votes.

A motion to appoint Belinda Sandoval was made but failed. The court subsequently moved to appoint Claudia McDaniel; Commissioner Donamontes seconded that motion, and the court chair announced the motion carried with two commissioners opposed and three in favor. The transcript does not record individual roll-call votes by name for that ballot.

Judge Mayotte told the public the court would not discuss the contents of the executive session, saying, "we're not allowed to discuss what was done in executive session. But I do want to assure you guys that we did it in a way that was, as fair as possible to everybody." A separate commissioner—whose name was not recorded in the public portion of the transcript—said for the record that the process "could have been done better," while also acknowledging the court's obligation to be transparent.

The court identified seven applicants for the vacancy: David (surname not specified), Claudia McDaniel, Aida De Leon, Belinda Samuel, Vanessa Rosas, Christina Cruz and Belinda Sandoval. Court members noted that seven applicants was more than prior similar recruitment (one example given was five applicants for a prior sheriff-related vacancy). The court recessed briefly during the process to confirm paperwork and resumes.

Court business concluded and the meeting was adjourned; the public portion of the transcript records the meeting ending at 12:51 p.m.

No additional details of the executive-session interviews or the criteria used by the court to narrow candidates to finalists were disclosed in open session.