<\/p>\n
Houston City Council member district C, Abbie Kamin, speaks as Houstonians gathered at City Hall Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2025 to show support for Ukraine during a rally commemorating the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion.<\/p>\n
Kirk Sides\/Staff photographer<\/p>\n
Houston City Council Member Abbie Kamin is seen with tears during recess of the city council meeting and following the news of former Mayor Sylvester Turner\u2019s passing at City Hall in Houston, Wednesday, March 5, 2025.<\/p>\n
Yi-Chin Lee\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
Harris County Commissioners Court voted 3-2 Thursday to\u00a0appoint Houston City Council Member Abbie Kamin as county attorney.<\/a><\/p>\n Kamin will be the third county attorney to lead the office in less than a year. U.S. Rep Christian\u00a0Menefee, D-Houston, vacated the office to\u00a0run for\u00a0Congress. Commissioners then appointed his\u00a0deputy, Jonathan Fombonne, to the position; Fombonne is not seeking elected office.\u00a0<\/p>\n Kamin\u2019s appointment takes effect June 15, meaning she will continue to represent Houston’s District\u00a0C until after the May 16 runoff.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The move grants Kamin an advantage in the November election, said Brandon\u00a0Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis isn’t a situation where they’re taking the selection out of the hands of the voters,\u201d he said. \u201cThat said, there’s clearly an advantage for her to be in office before the election, because she can speak very clearly about the kind of goals that she’s been pursuing and how aggressively she’s been fighting.\u201d<\/p>\n Although Rottinghaus said commissioners were effectively \u201cputting their finger on the scale\u201d of the November election by appointing\u00a0Kamin, he said partisan appointments are common on both sides of the aisle. He pointed to the recent appointment of Daniel Wong<\/a>, the Republican nominee for Fort Bend County judge, to that\u00a0position. His\u00a0predecessor KP George was removed from office by a judge<\/a> after allegations of misconduct.\u00a0<\/p>\n Republican Commissioner Tom Ramsey and Judge Lina Hidalgo voted against Kamin’s\u00a0appointment. Hidalgo said she did not feel comfortable appointing someone actively running for the position, as was done in Fort Bend County.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n “Part of me thinks: ‘Well, this is this gives an unfair advantage to the candidate of one party.’ It happens to be the Democratic Party. The other way to look at it is, well, if the Republican Party does it and the Democrats don’t do it, then we’re sort of chumps,” Hidalgo said. “I was just so appalled when I read the news about Fort Bend, and it doesn’t feel right for me to do the same thing that so appalled me.”\u00a0<\/p>\n Ramsey said Kamin’s appointment lacked transparency and that his office was not made aware of the plan until just days prior to the meeting. The move also sparked criticism from Jacqueline\u00a0Lucci Smith, Kamin’s Republican opponent.\u00a0<\/p>\n EXCLUSIVE: Houston Council Member\u00a0Abbie Kamin to resign, run for Harris County attorney<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThe County Attorney\u2019s Office exists to serve the people of Harris County, not to protect political agendas or provide an advantage in an upcoming election,\u201d Smith said in a post on social media. \u201cHarris County deserves leadership that is accountable to voters, not appointed to avoid them.\u201d<\/p>\n Harris County residents deserve transparency, accountability, and respect for the law; not backroom political maneuvering.<\/p>\n There are growing reports that Commissioners Court may attempt to appoint my opponent as County Attorney, placing her in office without a vote of the\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/8wWAjClrIw<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Jacqueline Lucci Smith (@Smith4HarrisCty) April 15, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Kamin has not appeared as an attorney of record in Harris County or federal courts, records show.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n