Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo fields questions after unsealed court documents alleged that staff members in Hidalgo's office steered an $11 million contract for a COVID-19 outreach project to a preferred vendor. Taken on March 22, 2022.Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo fields questions after unsealed court documents alleged that staff members in Hidalgo’s office steered an $11 million contract for a COVID-19 outreach project to a preferred vendor. Taken on March 22, 2022.

Harris County commissioners punted a proposed resolution on Thursday that would have condemned Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo’s recent actions at the Houston rodeo and called for her resignation.

Republican Commissioner Tom Ramsey’s resolution would have recognized the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo’s accomplishments and condemned Hidalgo for an incident in which she was removed by security from a rodeo concert last week at NRG Stadium. The delay comes after a rule change in February that moves resolutions from Harris County Commissioners Court’s regular bi-weekly meetings to business court meetings.

Commissioner Rodney Ellis, a Democrat who directed the regular court meeting on Thursday because of Hidalgo’s absence, said Ramsey would have to make a motion to suspend the recent rule change in order to read the resolution.

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No other commissioner seconded Ramsey’s motion to temporarily suspend the rule change — which kicked the item to the next business court meeting on March 31. Ellis also suggested pausing the discussion until Hidalgo, who is in Europe on a trade mission, returned to commissioners court.

“Just from the timing of it all, I think reading it here, and we can certainly talk about it again when she returns, her having missed the last three meetings, I’m not sure when she’s coming,” Ramsey said.

The dispute between Hidalgo and security personnel at the rodeo happened after she and four other guests attempted to access the chute area — a premium seating area in NRG Stadium closest to the concert stage — without proper credentials. Hidalgo claimed she was threatened with arrest, shoved by security personnel and escorted out of a rodeo concert.

Rodeo officials disputed her claims and said they were “very disappointed” in Hidalgo’s actions. The event’s board of directors also voted to strip Hidalgo of her role on the board, which was tied to her elected position as county judge.

In a series of social media posts and television interviews, Ramsey called for Hidalgo’s resignation because of the incident. State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, a Houston Republican, also called for Hidalgo’s resignation in response.

The proposed resolution, provided to Houston Public Media, says the incident should be grounds for Hidalgo’s resignation and a bipartisan call for her apology.

“Judge Lina Hidalgo’s entitled behavior and misuse of her official position have embarrassed this Commissioners Court and the people of Harris County time and time again; and now her unfounded comments about those who devote their lives to make the world’s largest rodeo an annual success should be grounds for her resignation…” reads the proposed resolution.

A spokesperson for Hidalgo’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

She was absent from the Thursday commissioners court meeting because she joined a trade mission to Europe this week with the Greater Houston Partnership. The trip — with stops in the Netherlands, Germany and Portugal — is an effort to showcase Houston to business investors ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with Houston hosting seven matches in June and July. The soccer teams for all three of those countries are scheduled to play in Houston.

Hidalgo, a Democrat who is not seeking a third term this year, serves as the top executive for the Harris County government. The county owns NRG Stadium and the surrounding NRG Park and leases the property to the rodeo for its annual event.