Uvalde County Commissioners Court appoints Jerry Bates as interim county judge

The Uvalde County Commissioners Court appointed retired county commissioner Jerry Bates on Dec. 2, 2012, to fill the office of county judge under Texas Local Government Code 26.017. The appointment followed an executive session on personnel and was made by motion, second and a voice vote.

The motion to appoint Bates was made by Commissioner Copeland and seconded by Commissioner Garza, according to the meeting transcript. When the presiding officer asked “All in favor?” the court recorded two vocal “Aye” responses and the presiding officer declared, “Motion carries.”

Under the statute cited by the court, the appointee will serve "until the next term of office or until the suspension ends, whichever event occurs first," a timeline the presiding officer read aloud when presenting agenda item 1. The presiding officer later congratulated Bates and said he would be sworn in after the meeting once the oath is administered.

An unidentified commissioner noted that because the court approved the appointment under item 1, agenda items 2 and 3 were not acted on because those options would have contradicted the appointment already made. The transcript records the court entering an executive/technical session to discuss personnel and returning to open session at 10:43 a.m.

The transcript records the motion, the second and two affirmative vocal responses but does not list the names of the members who said “Aye.” The record therefore reflects a successful appointment but does not specify the full roll-call vote.