Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo speaking during a Tuesday Commissioners Court meeting. 
Melissa Phillip/Staff Photographer

Houston Chronicle
Kennedy Sessions, Chron
June 7, 2023Updated: June 7, 2023 9:39 p.m.

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo leapt for a choice of colorful language while criticizing her colleagues and questions their allegiances during a Tuesday Harris County Commissioners Court meeting. Hidalgo's remarks came during a discussion with fellow county leaders about a violence prevention program for at-risk youth in the county. Precipitating the blowup was a suggestion made by Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia, who proposed violence interrupters in the program work with the county sheriff and office of District Attorney Kim Ogg—a proposal the judge did not appreciate.

"If my colleagues want to put this in the district attorney's office and the sheriff's office let's take a vote," Hidalgo said. "And let's be on the record for who wants to go where so that I can then go explain to my community what else we're doing because some of us are wrapped around the little finger of a woman which I don't know what the f--k she's threatened you with."

Hidalgo continued, saying that violence interrupters collaborating with law enforcement would defeat one of the program's purposes: mentoring at-risk youth. According to the Harris County Public Health Department, the program selects individuals with lived experiences in at-risk situations to mentor participants and develop healthy life patterns.

"The mentors are not supposed to be collaborating with law enforcement obviously, or else they would be snitches," Hidalgo said. 

Activist Dr, Chico Tillmon, echoed Hidalgo's concerns noting that the program collaboration with law enforcement could make the mentors and staff vulnerable. 

"You make the staff vulnerable by first under the focus deterrence model; it's a fear-based model; you really tell individuals if you don't stop or if you do this you're going to prison or go to jail or get arrested," Tillmon said."There has been a history of individuals being shot, some killed, based upon shared information with law enforcement." 

Hidalgo also accused Ogg's staff of harassing some of the individuals in the program and noted the district attorney's investigation into three of her staff members. 

"Now she is also coming after these violence interrupters harassing these young men who decide to come back to the community and mentor young people so they don't go down the path of criminality," Hidalgo added. "I, for one, am not scared of this woman, and this is a violence interruption program this is not a district attorney investigation program."

Notably, before being elected to the Precinct 2 position, Garcia served as the Harris County Sheriff for six years. Hidalgo and Ogg's contentious relationship stems from years of policy and budget proposal disputes. In the past, Hidalgo has rejected Ogg's push for additional funding for the DA office. Ogg's office also oversaw the grand charge three of Hidalgo's staffers for their connection in an $11 million COVID-19 outreach contract. 

In a statement to Chron Wednesday afternoon, Hidalgo's Communications Director Brandon Marshall said the judge isn't interested in explaining her remarks. 

"The judge is a passionate defender of programs that support the wellbeing and safety of Harris County families," Marshall said. "Women, and women in positions of power in particular, constantly navigate a world that expects them to be both strong and vulnerable, assertive but not aggressive. Judge Hidalgo is not interested in dwelling on a passing remark that no man would be asked to justify."

Ogg's office did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.