Lina Hidalgo

Lina Maria Hidalgo (born February 19, 1991) is an American politician from the state of Texas. She is the county judge for Harris County, Texas, the third largest county in the United States.[1] She is the first woman and the first Latina to be elected to the position of Harris County Judge, a nonjudicial position that functions as the County's Chief Executive and oversees a budget of over $4 billion.[2]

Lina Hidalgo
County Judge of Harris County, Texas
Assumed office
January 1, 2019
Preceded byEd Emmett
Personal details
Born (1991-02-19) February 19, 1991
Bogota, Colombia
Political partyDemocratic
ResidenceHouston, Texas
EducationStanford University (BA)
Websitehttp://cjo.harriscountytx.gov/

Early life and career

Hidalgo was born in Bogota, Colombia, on February 19, 1991. Her family left Colombia when she was five years old, and lived in Peru and Mexico City before moving to Houston, Texas, when she was 15 years old.[3][1]

Hidalgo graduated from Seven Lakes High School in Greater Katy, Texas, and then attended Stanford University, graduating with a degree in Political Science in 2013.[3][1] Her honors thesis was titled, "Tiananmen or Tahrir? A Comparative Study of Military Intervention Against Popular Protest."[1]

That same year, Hidalgo became a U.S. citizen.[4][5][6][7] Upon graduation from Stanford University, Hidalgo received the Omidyar Network Postgraduate Fellowship to work with an international organization.[8] She moved to Thailand where she worked for the Internews Network, an international non-profit dedicated to training journalists and advocating for press freedom.[5]

After returning to the United States from Thailand, Hidalgo worked as a medical interpreter at the Texas Medical Center in Houston and volunteered for the Texas Civil Rights Project.[9][10][11] During this time, Hidalgo was accepted into the Master's/Juris Doctor Joint Program in law and public policy at Harvard University Kennedy School of Government and New York University School of Law. Though Hidalgo originally planned to pursue a career in health care and criminal justice, the 2016 election inspired her to put her degree on hold and run for public office instead.[12][7]

County Judge of Harris County

2018 election

Hidalgo ran for County Judge of Harris County in the 2018 elections. She ran unopposed in the Democratic Party primary election and faced incumbent Ed Emmett in the general election. Hidalgo ran on a platform focused on flood control, criminal justice reform, and increasing transparency and accountability in local government.[13] Hidalgo defeated Ed Emmett on November 6, 2018, to become the first woman and Latina elected Harris County Judge. Her victory was considered an upset and attracted national attention, with a large and diverse coalition of activists and organizations leading her to a nearly 19,000 vote victory.[11]

Tenure

Hidalgo championed cash bail reform in Harris County.[1][14]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Hidalgo implemented public health measures early to halt the spread of the coronavirus.[1] In March 2020, she ordered the closure of bars and restaurants.[1] In April 2020, Hidalgo required Harris County members to wear face masks in public.[1] Her public health measures were strongly criticized by Republicans at the state and federal level.[1] Greg Abbott, the Governor of Texas, criticized Hidalgo's action and said that local officials could not enforce mask mandates.[1] By June, as cases in Texas climbed, Abbott ordered his own face mask mandate.[1]

Hidalgo appeared in video montages during the 2020 Democratic National Convention.[15]

Lina Hidalgo has been credited with making voting easier in Harris County during the 2020 Texas elections, and with increasing turnout among lower-propensity voters. By October 30, 2020 (the Thursday before election day), more votes had been cast in Texas than the entire number of votes cast in the 2016 United States presidential election in Texas.[16]

Recognition

Hidalgo was featured on the cover of Time in January 2018 alongside dozens of other women that ran for office in one of the biggest elections for women.[17]

Hidalgo was criticized after a news conference in March 2019 in which she spoke in English and Spanish about the health implications of a massive chemical fire. She was addressing constituents and reporters from English and Spanish language media outlets. A commissioner from Chambers County posted a negative comment on social media: “English, this is not Mexico.”[18][19] Her director of communications issued a statement noting that a third of the residents of Harris County are Spanish speakers:

"Judge Hidalgo represents all of Harris County and given the county's composition and her bilingual skills, she will continue to communicate as broadly as possible especially when public safety is at stake."[19]

In December 2019, Hidalgo was named one of Forbes 30 under 30 in Law and Policy.[20]

See also

References
  1. O’rourke, Ciara. "The Latina Progressive Who Faced Down Texas Republicans". POLITICO. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  2. "Lina Hidalgo, a 27-Year-Old Latina, Will Lead Harris County, Texas' Biggest". The New York Times. November 8, 2018. Archived from the original on March 28, 2019. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  3. Paterson, Blake (April 3, 2019). "She's 28. She's an Immigrant. She's in Charge of Texas' Most Populous County. Get Used to It". The Texas Observer. Archived from the original on June 8, 2019. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
  4. Beausoleil, Sophia (November 8, 2018). "Who is the new Harris County Judge-elect Lina Hidalgo?". KPRC. Archived from the original on February 28, 2019. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  5. Kiah Collier (January 8, 2019). "Harris County's first Latina county judge takes the helm". The Texas Tribune. Archived from the original on February 28, 2019. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  6. "Cap and Gown News Fall 2011" (PDF). Stanford University. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 31, 2019. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  7. Garcia, Samuel (December 6, 2018). "27-Year-Old Immigrant Lina Hidalgo's Election Marks A Change In Texas Politics". Forbes. Archived from the original on February 28, 2019. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  8. "FSI | CDDRL - CDDRL student receives Stanford award for top thesis". Cddrl.fsi.stanford.edu. June 14, 2013. Archived from the original on August 31, 2019. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  9. "Who is newly-elected Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo?". November 7, 2018. Archived from the original on November 13, 2018. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  10. Gill, Julian (November 7, 2018). "Things to know about newly elected Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on November 12, 2018. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  11. Garcia, Samuel. "27-Year-Old Immigrant Lina Hidalgo's Election Marks A Change In Texas Politics". Forbes. Archived from the original on December 15, 2018. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  12. Nick Tabor (November 28, 2018). "Can a 27-Year-Old Neophyte Run the Largest County in Texas?". Nymag.com. Archived from the original on February 28, 2019. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  13. Grieder, Erica (November 9, 2018). "Lina Hidalgo earned the right to serve as Harris County judge". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on December 18, 2018. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  14. "Harris County approves historic bail deal, ends 'irreparable harm'". HoustonChronicle.com. July 30, 2019. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  15. https://www.texastribune.org/2020/08/21/dnc-2020-texans/
  16. Levitz, Eric (October 30, 2020). "Texas Has Already Exceeded Its 2016 Turnout. Here's What That Means". Intelligencer. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  17. "FSI - A Year Ago, They Marched. Now a Record Number of Women Are Running for Office". Fsi.stanford.edu. January 24, 2018. Archived from the original on August 31, 2019. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  18. Bever, Lindsey (March 27, 2019). ""This is not Mexico": Texas official criticizes county judge for speaking Spanish". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 28, 2019. Retrieved March 28, 2019 – via The Texas Tribune.
  19. Acevedo, Nicole (March 27, 2019). "Texas official apologizes for telling Latina county judge to 'speak English'". NBC News. Archived from the original on March 28, 2019. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  20. "Lina Hidalgo, 28". 2020 30 UNDER 30: LAW & POLICY. Forbes. Archived from the original on December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
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