Lucio Vasquez/Houston Public Media
Houston Mayor John Whitmire and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo have historically had tension.
Houston Mayor John Whitmire and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo hosted multiple news conferences in recent days as a winter storm descended on the region — but the local Democrats did not speak to reporters together.
Responding to a question from a Houston Public Media reporter on Monday, Hidalgo revealed an apparent snub by Whitmire.
“I agree that the briefings should be joint,” Hidalgo said. “It’s important to be on the same page, have the same message. We invited his office to our press conference — and in fact we said, ‘You pick the time, and we will make it happen at that time.’ So I can only speak from my side, but you know what? I’m happy that the community gets information.”
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Houston Public Media asked Whitmire if he invited Hidalgo to his first news conference ahead of the storm on Friday, Jan. 23. He didn’t directly answer the question.
“We’ve been in contact with her office,” Whitmire said at the time. “Anyone’s welcome to my press conference, even you.”
Asked about Hidalgo’s comments on Monday, Whitmire downplayed the importance of joint messaging.
“The county are my partners, but I can’t always meet someone else’s schedule, particularly when you get them at the last minute,” Whitmire said. “I respect her operation, but I have the responsibility of running the city. I know you want to make an issue out of that, but it’s a non-issue.”
Pressed about Hidalgo’s assertion that she was willing to accommodate his schedule, Whitmire responded, “Sir, I know you want to create a controversy where one doesn’t exist.”
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“I’m here, the county is my partner, but I don’t work on someone else’s schedule because I’ve got 2.3 million Houstonians, thousands of people that need our assistance,” he continued.
Whitmire did appear alongside an elected county official on Monday — Lesley Briones, one of two Democratic county commissioners who have drawn Hidalgo’s ire over the past year.
After Briones and commissioner Adrian Garcia passed a law enforcement pay raise with the support of Republican commissioner Tom Ramsey — over the opposition of Hidalgo — and denied a tax hike to fund Hidalgo’s priority childcare programs, Hidalgo branded them the “GOP 3.”
The city and county’s top elected officials haven’t held a joint press conference since the derecho wind event left eight people dead and more than 920,000 CenterPoint Energy customers without power nearly two years ago.
During that news conference on May 16, 2024, they squabbled when Whitmire attempted to call up Briones to speak before Hidalgo delivered remarks in Spanish. Hidalgo accused him of giving Briones “special treatment.” Whitmire said, “I’m glad I made the approval list,” and Hidalgo responded, “Mayor, this is a disaster. Now is not the time.”
They didn’t hold a joint news conference two months later, when more than 2 million CenterPoint customers lost power and more than 40 people died in the Houston area in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl.
In a Tuesday statement, Hidalgo — who also oversees the county’s response to emergencies — expressed frustration with the relationship.
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“One of the first things I learned when I became emergency management director is that collaboration is crucial,” Hidalgo wrote. “We’re all human beings, so people need to feel comfortable working with each other under duress. At the very least, you want a working relationship. I feel disappointed for the community that that is not the case and would very much like to meet.”
June through November will mark their final hurricane season as local elected officials. Hidalgo announced last year she would not seek reelection this November.
Houston Public Media’s Sarah Grunau contributed to this report.