In a lengthy Facebook post published just before announcing she had been diagnosed with mononucleosis, Hidalgo publicly broke with the Democratic majority on Commissioners Court, accusing fellow Democrats of abandoning the priorities that helped the party take power in 2018.
“I worry about our party’s electability in Harris County this November,” Hidalgo wrote. “The court’s priorities do not reflect the values of the people of Harris County.”
The post is one of Hidalgo’s sharpest public critiques yet of the current direction of county government and comes as Democrats nationally continue infighting as they attempt to reconnect with voters following setbacks in recent elections.
Rather than simply criticizing individual votes, Hidalgo argued the court has drifted away from the platform Democrats campaigned on.
“Here we are again, but this time, sadly, under the Democratic label,” she wrote. “Blatant pay to play with no-bid contracts awarded to donors. Catastrophic budgetary decisions with little public awareness.”
Hidalgo also defended the record of the Commissioners Court she helped lead after Democrats took control in 2018, pointing to investments in public health, flood control, homelessness, early childhood education and mental health while contrasting those priorities with current budget decisions.
She argued recent decisions—including nearly $300 million annually in police salary increases, $410 million in unfunded flood-control projects, proposed cuts to domestic violence programs and continued debates over early childhood education—reflect a different set of priorities.
Hidalgo reserved some of her strongest criticism for Democratic leaders she said the court chose to back politically.
“It started with a willingness by our court to back those who do not represent the people. And who, incidentally, lose,” she wrote before specifically mentioning former Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg, former Houston Mayor Annise Parker and current Houston Mayor John Whitmire.
Hidalgo warned those local decisions could ultimately hurt Democrats well beyond Harris County.
“We know voters are smart,” she wrote. “We can have the best candidates at the statewide level, but if our local candidates don’t inspire, we leave opportunities on the table. We leave votes on the table that could help up and down the ballot. We risk losing the county control we fought so hard to win and keep.”
She closed with a direct appeal to Democratic voters ahead of the county’s upcoming budget discussions.
“We all wish all we had to do was campaign,” Hidalgo wrote. “But we have to deliver and THEN we can campaign. We can still deliver.”
Ahmed Humble
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