Carla Wyatt, Harris County treasurer, right, is shown as her attorney Christopher Downey speaks to the media after a court appearance on her misdemeanor burglary charge in Houston Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. She is accused of breaking into another person’s vehicle with intent to commit theft.
Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle
Harris County Treasurer Carla Wyatt was cited Sept. 18 after she caused a four-vehicle crash on Interstate 45, according to a Texas Department of Transportation crash report.
The incident marks Wyatt’s fourth run-in with the law since she took office at the start of 2023. The embattled Democrat was twice arrested for drunken driving, and in December was charged with burglary of a vehicle, though a grand jury later declined to indict her on that charge.
Commissioners are actively seeking to abolish Wyatt’s position, which critics consider antiquated, and voted earlier this year to strip her office of a key oversight role after an attempted fraud went undetected. One state lawmaker said commissioners may get their wish if voters reelect Wyatt in November.
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“This will come down to what happens in the election,” said state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston. “If she stays in the job, it will be effectively a signal for removal.”
Wyatt’s office did not respond to a request for comment Monday. In a Sept. 25 screening with the Houston Chronicle editorial board, Wyatt said her legal troubles have no impact on her professional ability.
“Car accidents happen every day,” Wyatt said. “As far as my personal life is concerned, it has nothing to do with my ability to do my job.”
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After the I-45 wreck, Houston Police Department officers cited Wyatt for failing to control her speed, but officers found no indication she was intoxicated, according to the report. Footage of the incident first shared by KPRC 2 showed a Black Nissan Xterra aggressively changing lanes before rear ending another vehicle.
A diagram of the crash included in the crash report alleged Wyatt rear ended two additional vehicles before coming to a stop. No one was badly injured in the crash, according to the report.
Wyatt was first charged with driving while intoxicated in December 2023. That charge was later dismissed after she completed a pretrial diversion program, despite twice violating the conditions of her bond.
Wyatt was charged again with drunken driving in May after she was found asleep at the wheel in Galveston County. That case is pending.
Efforts to abolish position ongoing
The crash happened just weeks after Wyatt submitted a salary grievance to a panel of residents convened to review elected official pay, asking that her salary be increased from roughly $130,000 to $305,000. During a hearing on the request in late August, county officials pointed to their ongoing efforts lobbying the Texas Legislature to abolish her position.
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“This is about the position. It’s not about the person,” said Francis Nugent, deputy director of Intergovernmental and Global Affairs. “This is consistent with what a lot of other, particularly large, counties in the state have done. Tarrant County, Bexar County, Collin County, El Paso County have all amended the constitution to eliminate their treasurer’s office.”
Abolishing the office would require two-thirds approval of both the Texas House and Senate, which would then allow the issue to appear before voters on the November 2027 ballot, Nugent said. A majority of voters statewide and in Harris County would need to approve the measure for the position to be abolished.
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While county officials have focused on what they say are the office’s diminished duties and outdated role, Nancy Sims, a political science lecturer at the University of Houston, said she thinks the court may be overly focused on the scandals that have emerged under Wyatt’s tenure.
“You don’t abolish a constitutional office because of the behavior of an individual. If we did that, we wouldn’t have any offices left,” Sims said.
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Wyatt heads a small office of roughly a dozen staff members that has seen its duties eroded by advances in digital banking and other technology that has led to it being labeled “obsolete” by some officials and experts.
She ran unopposed in the Democratic primaries. Her Republican opponent, Marc Cowart, has repeatedly denounced her behaviour.