Vogt leads first Commissioners Court meeting as County Judge

New county judge Ruben Vogt considered his first Commissioners Court meeting a success.

The 33-year-old was chosen by replaced Veronica Escobar, after she vacated her seat to run for Texas’ 16th Congressional District seat.

Vogt was Escobar’s chief of staff.

“I think it was a seamless operation today — so far,” Vogt said. “I always want to listen to what the commissioners are thinking and that’s part of what I wanted to do coming in is make sure we had open dialogue.”

Vogt had an extra week to prepare for this meeting since last Monday was Colombus Day.

“He said he was going to spend a lot of time watching commissioners court meetings and listening to executive sessions which sounds like a great way to spend a holiday,” county commissioner Andrew Haggerty joked.

Even though Vogt worked under Escobar for several years, Haggerty wants him to be his own leader.

“I think he needs to respectfully separate himself from the judge. And I’ve had this conversation with him privately; he needs to make sure he leaves here as judge Vogt, and not judge Escobar’s assistant,” Haggerty said.

Escobar returned a $1,000 campaign donation she received from Vogt after he took over as county judge. Escobar said she did so so that there would be no ethical questions raised.