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→Political life
Emmett was first appointed county judge by the commissioners court in 2007 to fill the nearly full four-year term left by the resignation of his predecessor, Robert Eckels (born 1957), also a transportation planner and a former member of the state House. In his capacity as county judge, Emmett was also the director of the Harris County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. He is the chairman of the Houston-Galveston Area Transportation Policy Council and the county Juvenile Board.<ref name=judgeemmett/>
Emmett was first appointed county judge by the commissioners court in 2007 to fill the nearly full four-year term left by the resignation of his predecessor, Robert Eckels (born 1957), also a transportation planner and a former member of the state House. In his capacity as county judge, Emmett was also the director of the Harris County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. He is the chairman of the Houston-Galveston Area Transportation Policy Council and the county Juvenile Board.<ref name=judgeemmett/>
In 2008, Emmett defeated fellow Republican Charles Bacarisse, the former Harris County district clerk, in the primary election to complete the last two years of the term that Eckels vacated.<ref name=houstonpolitics>{{cite web|url=http://blog.chron.com/houstonpolitics/2014/02/bettencourt-says-he-predicted-emmetts-whopper-donation/|author=Kiah Collier|title=Updated: Paul Bettencourt says he predicted Emmett's whopper donation, February 26, 2014|publisher=''The Houston Chronicle''|accessdate=September 3, 2020}}</ref> He went on to defeat Democrat David Mincberg in the 2008 general election and won a full term in 2010 by defeating former Houston City Council member Gordon Quan. Emmett ran again in the [[general election]] held on November 4, 2014, when he defeated another Democrat, Ahmed Robert Hassan, a real estate and mortgage broker.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/pasadena/news/primary-elections-who-s-in-the-running/article_5ab4ed77-a05a-5a8e-8b2e-f2626625b071.html|author=Kristi Nix|title=Harris County primary elections, who's in the running?|date=January 13, 2014|publisher=yourhoustonnews.com|accessdate=April 1, 2014}}</ref>
In 2008, Emmett defeated fellow Republican Charles Bacarisse, the former Harris County district clerk, in the primary election to complete the last two years of the term that Eckels vacated.<ref name=houstonpolitics>{{cite web|url=http://blog.chron.com/houstonpolitics/2014/02/bettencourt-says-he-predicted-emmetts-whopper-donation/|author=Kiah Collier|title=Updated: Paul Bettencourt says he predicted Emmett's whopper donation, February 26, 2014|publisher=''The Houston Chronicle''|accessdate=September 3, 2020}}</ref> He went on to defeat Democrat David Mincberg in the 2008 general election and won a full term in 2010 by defeating former Houston City Council member Gordon Quan. Emmett ran again in the [[general election]] held on November 4, 2014, when he defeated another Democrat, Ahmed Robert Hassan, a real estate and mortgage broker.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/pasadena/news/primary-elections-who-s-in-the-running/article_5ab4ed77-a05a-5a8e-8b2e-f2626625b071.html|author=Kristi Nix|title=Harris County primary elections, who's in the running?|date=January 13, 2014|publisher=yourhoustonnews.com|accessdate=September 3, 2020}}</ref> Early in the 2014 campaign, Emmett, who had no intra-party opposition, donated $90,000 from his own campaign funds to engineer-turned-lawyer Paul Simpson, who in the primary unseated conservative Jared Woodfill, the long-term chairman of the Harris County Republican Party. Woodfill carried the backing of former chairman [[Gary Polland]], the state Senator and later Lieutenant Governor [[Dan Patrick]], and Paul Bettencourt, the former Harris County tax assessor-collector and Patrick's successor in state Senate District 7. Emmett, however, claims that Woodfill in 2012 took personal credit for the establishment of "victory centers" when the sites were the work of Emmett and the state Republican party.<ref name=houstonpolitics/> Simpson supporters claimed that Woodfill had been lackluster in campaign fundraising and had accented "social issues" as chairman, including a lawsuit against then [[Mayor]] Annise Parker, regarding benefits for same-sex couples working for the city.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/politics/houston/article/Challenger-wins-GOP-chair-race-5289730.php#/0|author=Kiah Collier|title=Challenger wins GOP chair race|date=March 4, 2014|publisher=''The Houston Chronicle''|accessdate=April 1, 2014}}</ref>
Early in the 2014 campaign, Emmett, who had no intra-party rival, donated $90,000 from his own campaign funds to engineer-turned-lawyer Paul Simpson, who in the primary unseated conservative Jared Woodfill, the long-term chairman of the Harris County Republican Party. Woodfill carried the backing of former chairman [[Gary Polland]], the state Senator and later Lieutenant Governor [[Dan Patrick]], and Paul Bettencourt, the former Harris County tax assessor-collector and Patrick's successor in state Senate District 7. Emmett, however, claims that Woodfill in 2012 took personal credit for the establishment of "victory centers" when the sites were the work of Emmett and the state Republican party.<ref name=houstonpolitics/> Simpson supporters claimed that Woodfill had been lackluster in campaign fundraising and had accented "social issues" as chairman, including a lawsuit against then [[Mayor]] Annise Parker, regarding benefits for same-sex couples working for the city.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/politics/houston/article/Challenger-wins-GOP-chair-race-5289730.php#/0|author=Kiah Collier|title=Challenger wins GOP chair race|date=March 4, 2014|publisher=''The Houston Chronicle''|accessdate=April 1, 2014}}</ref>
Emmett has been awarded numerous awards in his career, including being named Transportation Person of the Year by Transportation Clubs International in 2005, receiving the Presidential "Call to Service" Award from president [[George W. Bush]] in 2008, and receiving the 2009 Distinguished Public Service Award from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas.
Emmett has been awarded numerous awards in his career, including being named Transportation Person of the Year by Transportation Clubs International in 2005, receiving the Presidential "Call to Service" Award from president [[George W. Bush]] in 2008, and receiving the 2009 Distinguished Public Service Award from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas.