A retired lawmaker offered words of support for Judge Lina Hidalgo during Tuesday’s Harris County commissioner’s court meeting. This was the first meeting since Hidalgo announced she was taking a leave of absence to seek treatment for clinical depression.
Among the dozens of people who signed up to speak during the meeting was retired state representative Garnet Coleman. He said he originally signed up to speak on behalf of Cigna Healthcare but wanted to show support for Hidalgo.
“I could not get up there without saying something about her decision and having been in that very same position,” said Coleman.
Coleman served as state representative of Dist. 147 for more than 3-decades before retiring in 2022. He was a fierce advocate for expanding healthcare, especially mental healthcare, in Texas. Early in his career, Coleman did what was then considered a risky political move. He took a leave of absence to seek treatment for bipolar disorder.
“As you know before that was the death knell if you admitted that you had mental health issues and that put you out of office,” said Coleman.
Coleman said he could have lasted in the legislature had he not sought treatment and he said he was grateful for the support of colleagues.
“I would have never really been able to do the job because every time that I would get into a deep depression, it would be worse because I wouldn’t want to tell anybody,” said Coleman. “What I tried to do was to show that mental illness is manageable and that you can recover, and come from that, and do just fine.”
Tie votes and emergencies
Tuesday’s meeting saw no procedural roadblocks due to Hidalgo’s absence and none of the commissioners expect any to arise. Commissioners court is made up of five members to avoid tie-votes, but Hidalgo on a leave of absence, how would potential ties be broken?
“My proposal would let’s just hold the item until we have the full court here and we’ll revisit those issues,” said Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia.
While the issue has not been fully discussed, Commissioner Rodney Ellis doesn’t foresee a problem.
“Sometimes three turns into five pretty easily, so I think you’ll still three turn into 4,” said Ellis.
Since Democrats have a 4-to-1 majority on the court, a tie seems even less likely. There is, however, the matter of emergencies and disasters. A county judge is given broad powers and expected to guide responses during times of emergency.
Homeland Security and Emergency Management coordinator for Harris County, Mark Sloan addressed this issue during the meeting by speaking to commissioners via a remote connection.
“We maintain more than 100 plans for the hazards we address in Harris County, these plans identify the response partners required to effectively ensure that lives and property are protected,” said Sloan.
Both Garcia and Ellis added Hidalgo was still reachable during times of crisis, but said there were more than enough experienced leaders in the county to handle response without having to interrupt Hidalgo’s treatment.