Bizarre Harris Co. Commissioners Court blowup leads to decorum call: 'Done taking your disrespect'

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- A Harris County Commissioners Court meeting that went well into the late night hours this week got tense and personal, leading to calls for decorum.

The bizarre moments unfolded during the court's regular Tuesday meeting, which started at 10 a.m. Nearly 12 hours later, just before 9:30 p.m., the meeting devolved into disarray.

"I am done taking your disrespect. If someone says 'Hello,' you say 'Hello' back," Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo told Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia.

The exchange was part of an uncomfortable back-and-forth, with the four commissioners weighing in differently.

Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones asked for a point of order. Garcia wanted to move on. Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis suggested taking a break. They had just voted unanimously on the details of announcing a new Harris County Flood Control District tax-rate plan. Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey, the lone Republican, wanted his vote registered.

"Judge, if I could," Ramsey said.

"Yes, my colleague here silenced it, and when I asked to clarify, I get a glare," Hidalgo said, referring to Garcia.

"I am registering my vote," Ramsey said.

"Thank you," she said. "I'm going to continue asking Commissioner Garcia, so if he glares back, I'm sorry, commissioner."

"Can we please get back to the people's work?" Briones begged before calling for decorum.

"I just don't like this kind of behavior from males. I'm sorry," Hidalgo said.

It is not the first time the rifts have been on such public display. Last June, Hidalgo swore during commissioners court when she accused Garcia of allowing him to be bullied by the district attorney.

"Because some of us are wrapped around the little finger because I don't know what the (expletive) she has threatened you with," she said.

The county's top official, who boldly took a break for mental health treatment last year, is known for going toe-to-toe, but has she gone too far?

"This isn't the halls of high school. This is county government," Ed Emmett, Hidalgo's predecessor and a fellow in Rice's Baker Institute, told ABC13. "It hurts the relationships, and so much of county government is built on being able to work together."

Hidalgo's office provided context and explained that she was tired and had not eaten, and it was very late.

The office said in a statement, "No matter which side of the aisle it comes from, Judge Hidalgo will not tolerate a pattern of disrespect toward herself or others."

Garcia's office declined to comment.

Commissioner Ramsey wrote, "Her conduct speaks for itself. This is not the first time the County Judge has made the news for her behavior at court, and I'm sure it won't be the last."

"This definitely does not look like good governance, and it's tough to imagine the best governance is emerging from it," Mark Jones, professor of political science at Rice, told ABC13.

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