Harris County is days away from adopting its $2.7 billion budget, sinking in debt, and grappling over how to prioritize flood control projects , but County Judge Lina Hidalgo can’t stop talking about an early childhood program she tried — and failed — to fund through a tax increase earlier this year.

The Democratic judge has been at odds for months with Commissioners Lesley Briones and Adrian Garcia, members of her own political party, as well as Republican Commissioner Tom Ramsey. At the heart of most of the arguments is money.

Briones and Garcia, who are both up for re-election in 2026, were noticeably absent from Hidalgo’s State of the County address last Friday. The event, sponsored by Greater Houston Partnership, was billed as an opportunity to hear from the judge on infrastruct

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