By MATTHEW WATKINS
Jim Kuboviak will end a 23-year career as Brazos County attorney three months before his final term in office expires, he said Tuesday.
He said he made the decision to allow an easy transition for his successor, Rod Anderson, while permitting Anderson's replacement to join the office as soon as possible. His last day will be Sept. 30.
Kuboviak, a Democrat, will be replaced by Anderson, a current assistant county attorney who is a Republican, in an uncontested race for the position on the November ballot. The Brazos County Commissioners Court unanimously approved the appointment after convening in executive session following Kuboviak's resignation Tuesday morning during a regularly scheduled meeting.
Kuboviak said he decided to retire early to allow his office to make a "complete transition" to its new boss by the time a busy court season strikes early next year.
Things tend to be slow around the holidays, he said, so Anderson and his new second-in-command will have time to adjust to the new jobs.
As Anderson moves into the new top spot, a former employee of the office, Bill Ballard, will fill Anderson's old role. Ballard -- who supported Anderson in the primary and donated $500 to his campaign -- moved from Brazos County to Bandera last year but recently expressed a desire to return to the county attorney's office, Kuboviak said.
Ballard will not be able to join the office until Kuboviak leaves because both salaries aren't figured into the county budget, officials said.
Anderson was out of the office Tuesday and could not be reached for comment.
No regrets
Kuboviak said he had full confidence in his successor's abilities. He campaigned for Anderson during the March primary, and Kuboviak's wife was Anderson's campaign treasurer.
"He has been first assistant for a long time, and there will be no bumps when he takes over," Kuboviak said. "We haven't made two decisions in the last 10 years that were different."
Over the weekend, Kuboviak started to pack up his office by removing pictures and diplomas from the wall. He said he didn't know what he would do next but was exploring options, including teaching criminal justice or practicing law in Brazos County.
"I don't want to go -- there will probably be claw marks on the glass windows as I make my way out the door -- but I think someone can hold office for too long," he said. "I have watched Brazos County grow immensely in the last 27 years, and it is time for Mr. Anderson to come in and give it some new ideas."
After a tense campaign in which he ran on experience and knowledge of the office, Anderson handily defeated First Assistant District Attorney Shane Phelps during the Republican primary in March. During the campaign, Phelps criticized the county attorney's office for not aggressively prosecuting some DWI and assault cases. The opposition also suggested that the office should not allow its prosecutors to pursue outside legal work.
The county attorney's office is responsible for prosecuting most misdemeanors that pass through the local criminal justice system. Some employees provide legal counsel to county departments.
Kuboviak began his law enforcement career 40 years ago when he became a police officer while attending graduate school at the University of Mississippi.
He came to Brazos County as an assistant district attorney 13 years later and spent almost four years as a prosecutor before deciding to run for county attorney in 1984.
"I came in here young and I am leaving old, but I have no regrets," he said. "I am totally happy with what has happened."
Leaving a legacy
In addition to his booming voice and sense of humor, his colleagues said they would remember his legacy of handling contentious issues such as hazing at Texas A&M, prosecuting hot-check offenders and fighting alcohol offenses, including underage drinking and driving while intoxicated.
He gained statewide attention when he prosecuted four Texas A&M Corps of Cadets members on charges of hazing and tampering with evidence after 20-year-old cadet Bruce Goodrich died of heat stroke in 1984. Authorities said Goodrich was forced to perform exhausting drills between 2 and 3 a.m. Following the death, anti-hazing legislation was passed in Texas and the Corps was extensively reorganized.
In 1997, Kuboviak's office brought hazing charges against nine advisers for the Corps' Fish Drill Team after they were said to have kicked, punched and beat freshman cadets with helmets. As a result of the prosecution, many students received probation and the drill team was disbanded. The team was reinstated in 2002.
Kuboviak said he not only worked to punish those who hazed, he also prosecuted fraternity members and tried to end the practice on campus.
"I worked hard with the university to quash the misconception that hazing was an acceptable tradition on campus," he said.
In 2003, amid some criticism, he declined to bring charges against members of the Corps' Parsons Mounted Calvary for forcing students to do exercises while doused in urine and excrement. He said at the time that he would leave it to the university to punish the students.
His work fighting alcohol crimes was done by organizing and providing law enforcement officials with resources to run undercover operations targeting stores that sold alcohol to minors and placing video inside.
"In the late '90s he got an alcohol enforcement grant to do undercover operations and other minor offenses," said Randy Field, a sergeant with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission in Bryan. "That right there helped us a lot. He was always very good to us and was always very pro-law enforcement."
Kuboviak became nationally known after he led the way in putting dashboard cameras in local police cars so that officers could have hard evidence against drunken drivers and juries could see what the police witnessed. Brazos was the first county in the state to have such cameras, and the practice spread to police departments across the county.
He also helped organize units and operations that targeted family violence, crimes against women, illegal gambling and hot-check writers.
Kuboviak said that when he first was elected there were more than 4,500 theft-by-check warrants in the county. He organized a unit to conduct raids that brought in hundreds of people at a time who wrote such checks, officials said.
"It was great because it helped gain revenue for the county," said County Judge Randy Sims. "Jim has always been good at what he does, and I think he has done a tremendous job."
He leaves as one of the few remaining Democrats to hold county office. He won re-election eight times -- including once in 1988 as a write-in candidate after he was removed from the ballot for voting in the Republican primary.
He said he wouldn't miss the politicking but would miss trying to find solutions to the county's problems.
"It has been a great ride," he said. "It really has."
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