His voice choked with emotion as Harris County Judge Robert Eckels announced he's stepping down from one of most powerful posts in Houston area government.

AP

Harris County Judge Robert Eckels

Eckels, who's served a dozen years at the helm of county government, set no specific date for his resignation. But he made clear he plans to resign only after he and his fellow county commissioners decide who should succeed him in office.

"Take with you the appreciation that I feel for the honor that you have given me to serve as your county judge for these last 12 years," Eckels said before a packed hotel ballroom. "God bless each of you. And God bless Harris County."

Eckels impending resignation has been in the works for weeks. Last month, 11 News broke the story that the Harris County Judge was seriously considering resigning from office to accept a lucrative private sector job. At the time, he hinted to 11 News that he might make his intentions public at the annual State of the County address in mid-February.

"If I run for another office, it would be in 2008 or 2010," Eckels explained after his speech. "I'm going to have to resign anyway. And that has been in the plans for a long time. And then, I've always thought that if there was a private opportunity I could do that as well."

A successor will be chosen by the five county commissioners, including Eckels. The appointed judge will serve until the next general election in November. And the winner of that special election will serve the remainder of Eckels' term, which expires in 2010.

The appointed judge will almost certainly be a Republican, because three of the five commissioners hail from the GOP. And although Democrats want to name a caretaker who'll refuse to run for election in November, Republican commissioners want to name someone who'll run for election and keep the seat in GOP hands well into the next decade.

Partisan politics play a powerful role in their calculations. Republicans worry -- and Democrats hope -- that the GOP might lose control of the county judge's post after Eckels' departure. Political observers, as well as elected officials in both parties, believe that Harris County may be shifting away from Republican dominance and that Democrats could regain some countywide offices in 2010. Playing into their calculations: Presidential election years, like 2010, bring very heavy voter turnouts, which generally favor Democrats.

The most prominently mentioned possible appointee is Ed Emmett, a former state representative who left elected office decades ago. Emmett, a Republican, is supported by other GOP commissioners. He confirms that he wants the job and, significantly, he wants to run for the post in November.

"If offered, I would accept the job," Emmett said. "But it's really premature. The county judge has to make his timing. And the commissioners court has to act."

Eckels left open the door to running for another office in the future. Indeed, even some of his political rivals told 11 News they expect him to re-enter politics after working a brief stint in the private sector.

"I don't know where he's going to go or what he's going to run for," said Commissioner Steve Radack, his most outspoken political adversary. "But I believe this, that you certainly haven't heard the last of Robert Eckels, the politician."

The announcement comes at an awkward time for his political aides, who now must hustle to cancel a high-dollar fundraiser scheduled for next week. The annual event, traditionally Eckels' primary source of campaign money, was expected to raise more than $300,000. Eckels said he plans to return all of the money paid by donors who planned to attend the fundraiser -- but he also announced he'll hold another event for his supporters in the future, leaving open the possibility he'll ask them for more money to run for another office.