 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, 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 was the chairman of the Houston-Galveston Area Transportation Policy Council and the county Juvenile Board.