Senator Paul Bettencourt’s proposal would hand the Harris County Flood Control District over to unelected bureaucrats appointed by the governor.
State Republicans and local business leaders are betting big on the 38-year-old political newcomer, pouring nearly $5 million into her campaign to unseat County Judge Lina Hidalgo. Polls suggest the race is a dead heat.
Long-brewing tensions between Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and District Attorney Kim Ogg have come to a head months before an election.
But for now, her two GOP challengers are busy slashing at each other before the May 24 runoff election.
Documents shared with Texas Monthly reveal the thinking of some of the Harris County Judge’s staffers in awarding an $11 million bid.
The new voting law passed by the Legislature created headaches for those who cast ballots, but the problems with election administration in Harris County run far deeper.
The leader of the Harris County government seemed to have weathered a controversy over a contract for vaccine outreach, but in mid-November the district attorney issued subpoenas concerning the bidding process.
In the wake of the deadly Travis Scott concert, Bayou City and Harris County politicians have formed a circular firing squad.
In Harris County, two public officials fought off legal challenges to hold a successful election in the middle of a pandemic.
The Harris County judge has frequently pushed for bolder pandemic policy than Houston’s mayor, adopting a new style of politics her critics say Texans aren’t ready for.
As public health experts warn that ICUs in the city might soon be overwhelmed with coronavirus patients, shops and restaurants remain packed.
A month and a half after telling local officials they couldn't mandate masks, the Texas governor congratulated a local official on realizing that, actually, they could.
Led by a twentysomething Latina, Democrats now run Harris County, offering a glimpse at what things might look like—for better or for worse—if the party finds itself back on top across Texas.
