Martin Cash said:Rattler12 said:Martin Cash said:Rattler12 said:
I guess nobody has told her that it's up to the 4 Commissioners to vote yay or nay. The county judge is only supposed to vote as a tie breaker if the commissioners vote 2-2
SIAP, I didn't read all five pages, but this is not true.
Met with a lot of county judges in my career and became friends with more than a few. This is true according to them and my personal observances. Texas county judges serve in an administrative capacity within county govt for the most part with some limited actual judicial duties. There is no need for them to vote for any reason other than a tiebreaker. Sat through many a county meeting all over the state and when it came to a vote if the vote was 3 to 1 the Judge's never cast a vote.
Some may do that as a matter of practice but there is nothing that states that as a rule or procedure. Our county judges have always voted. They are a member of the court and have a duty to vote. The original post says he 'shouldn't' vote, and that is simply not true. You may as well say a commissioner should not vote if his vote won't make a difference. By that reasoning, a mayor or a school board president should only vote to break a tie. Nonsense.
A county judge has a duty to vote and should vote on every issue so the voters know his position. To not vote is cowardice, necessary or not.
It's called Commissioners Court for a reason. It's not called County Judges court. The 4 commissioners represent the people in their respective precinct and each vote on the issues brought before the court. Yes the Judge has a vote,. No county in the state has more nor less than 4 precincts and the same for county commissioners. The Judge's vote is only necessary in the case of a 2/2 tie between the commissioners. Pretty sure the CJ let's the folks know his position on the matter at hand whether he chooses to vote or not.