Sep. 27, 2022

MID TERMS 2022: HARRIS COUNTY DEMOCRATIC JUDGE LINA HIDALGO ACCUSE REPUBLICAN COLLEAGUES OVER HEALTH

No-Show GOP Commissioners Dodge Court Again Escalating Reality of a Defunded Public Health System

Judge Hidalgo and Democratic Majority remain at a stalemate in battle to pass historic County budget 

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas – (Sep 27, 2022) – Today, Republican County Commissioners Jack Cagle and Tom Ramsey once again refused to appear at Commissioners Court, further impeding the County from implementing the new proposed budget and tax rate. If a quorum is not reached, the County faces a grave reality where vital departments, including law enforcement and the public hospital system, will be forced to operate with drastically reduced budgets.

In response to Cagle and Ramsey’s boycott, Judge Hidalgo and Commissioners Rodney Ellis and Adrian Garcia, broke for an executive session to discuss the legal options at hand. The course of action is ultimately aimed at compelling the absent commissioners to do their jobs and allow the court to proceed with securing a County budget.

“The refusal of my Republican colleagues to simply do their job has moved far and beyond political theatrics and is now threatening the health and safety of Harris County residents,” Judge Hidalgo said. 

“We will lose over $100 million dollars in vital funding, which means less law enforcement on the streets, fewer frontline prosecutors, cancellations for cancer screenings, forcing 10,000 patients to lose access to healthcare – and that’s just the tip of the iceberg,” Judge Hidalgo added.

Judge Hidalgo has worked closely with Commissioners to put forth a budget that will propel Harris County into the future, yet without a consensus, the County faces consequential budget cuts that diminish all progress over the past four years: 

• Harris County Sheriff's Office, District Attorney’s Office, Harris County Constables: -$55 million
• Harris County Public Hospital System: -$125 million 
• Harris County Public Libraries: -$1.4 million
• Flood Control Funding: -$23 million
• Veteran Services Department: -$325,000

Visit linahidalgo.com to learn more about campaign priorities and Lina's track-record. Stay up-to-date with the Hidalgo campaign by following us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

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ABOUT LINA HIDALGO: 

Judge Lina Hidalgo is the first woman, and the first Latina, to be elected to Harris County Judge. As the head of Harris County’s governing body and Director of the Harris County’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, she oversees a budget of over $4 billion which funds critical services and infrastructure including public safety, flood control and Harris Health System. Hidalgo immigrated with her family to Houston from Colombia in 2005. She earned a degree in political science from Stanford University, and completed joint degree coursework in law and public policy at New York University and Harvard, prior to being elected in 2018. The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation and The Institute of Politics at Harvard University honored Hidalgo with the prestigious John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award for her swift and effective COVID-19 response. She also earned the Jack Brooks Foundation Leadership Award for her efforts to protect voting rights and access. Other distinguished honors include "TIME 100 Next" by TIME Magazine, Forbes "30 Under 30," and Fortune "40 under 40."