A part-time municipal court judge will serve out the remainder of the term of former Precinct 4 Justice of the Peace Ramiro "Big Q" Quintero, Brazos County commissioners decided Friday.
Quintero resigned last week after he was arrested on felony and misdemeanor charges.
Colleen Batchelor, 59, is a former attorney with the Texas A&M University System and has worked on an "as-needed" basis since 1985 as an associate municipal judge for the city of Bryan.
Brazos County Judge Randy Sims said commissioners were looking for someone with relevant experience who would not run for the seat when Quintero's term expires in December 2010.
"My interest is more in trying to make a contribution to the fair and impartial administration of justice, and I'm just not interested in running [for office] at this time," Batchelor said after accepting the position Friday.
Quintero was arrested June 18. Authorities said he had given legal advice to a woman attempting to file suit in his court, accepted payment from her and then flushed evidence down a toilet when confronted by investigators.
He turned himself in and was released the same day after posting $11,000 bail.
He was charged with tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison, and with unauthorized practice of law and accepting gifts as a public servant, misdemeanors that carry maximum punishments of two years in jail.
Batchelor will be officially appointed to the position at Tuesday's Brazos County Commissioners meeting. She said she did not discuss her salary with commissioners when she accepted the job Friday. Quintero received an annual salary of $62,512.
Brazos County commissioners unanimously selected Batchelor out of 25 applications for the position Friday after meeting in closed session for an hour.
Batchelor said she applied for Quintero's post because she believed she had qualifying experience and could serve the residents of Precinct 4 well.
The former Houstonian worked as an attorney with Texas A&M's University System Office of General Counsel from 1977 to 1989.
Sims said it was important to the commissioners that Quintero's replacement not run for the position so that no one would have an advantage in the election.
"That gives an open field to whoever wants to run," he said. "Then the people can have their say as to who gets to be the next up."
Several leaders in the Hispanic community applied for the post, including Bryan City Councilman Al Saenz; former Councilman Joe Marin; popular radio DJ and former Councilman Greg Rodriguez; and Bryan middle school teacher Augustin Lara, who was the Hispanic Forum's 2006 Person of the Year .
Applicants also included the candidates who ran for the seat in the 2006 election: former College Station school board member Mike Fleming, who was defeated by Quintero in the general election; detention officer Darrell Booker, who lost to Quintero in the Democratic primary; and community volunteer Josephine Sifuentez, who lost to Fleming in the Republican primary.
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