Michael Adkison/Houston Public Media
Houston City Council member Abbie Kamin speaks alongside other elected officials in front of the rainbow crosswalks in Montrose on Oct. 14, 2025.
Former Houston City Councilwoman Abbie Kamin was sworn in as interim Harris County Attorney this week, making her the first woman to take the department’s helm.
Kamin, a Democrat running for the position in the November election, was appointed by the Harris County Commissioners Court in April following a lengthy closed-door executive session after former interim County Attorney Jonathan Fombonne submitted his resignation letter.
Fombonne had been appointed to the position after former County Attorney Christian Menefee launched his bid for Houston’s 18th Congressional District.
Sign up for the Hello, Houston! daily newsletter to get local reports like this delivered directly to your inbox.
Hundreds of people turned out for Kamin’s swearing-in ceremony at the Sylvester Turner Conference Center downtown Monday, where she vowed to fight for vulnerable Harris County communities upon taking her seat.
“We will defend the rights and liberties of every resident and ensure county government continues delivering for the people of Harris County,” Kamin said in a statement after the ceremony. “At a time when our civil rights, our voting rights, our communities and local control are being targeted, our office will stand firm with integrity and a deep respect for the law.”
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and Commissioner Tom Ramsey scrutinized Kamin’s sudden appointment to the position earlier this year. Both acknowledged that commissioners court has the ability to appoint anyone to the position — even a candidate — if there’s a vacancy, but it wasn’t the “correct way.”
“We have the authority to do this, but it doesn’t feel right,” Hidalgo said after the appointment in April.
Before Fombonne briefly held the position earlier this year, commissioners had delayed the appointment for months. Though Menefee had technically resigned from his position after announcing his campaign for late U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner’s seat, he continued to carry out the roles of county attorney in an acting capacity.
In a statement to Houston Public Media before Fombonne’s appointment, Commissioner Rodney Ellis had said his preference at the time was to select an internal candidate from within the office rather than putting a thumb on the scale ahead of the election.
Kamin, a civil rights attorney, has served as a council member since 2019. Her campaign website details her work to target domestic abuse, gun violence and public safety issues on city council. Most recently, she spearheaded a new online dashboard evaluating firearm-related injuries across Houston.
Kamin has vowed to fight for families in her capacity as interim County Attorney. She plans to target elder abuse, protect survivors of domestic violence, and seek environmental protections against local concrete batch plants.
The county attorney position is set for an election in November. Kamin, who edged civil court Judge Audrie Lawton-Evans in the Democratic primary in March, is facing Republican Jacqueline Lucci Smith, a former civil court judge who once worked in the county attorney’s office.