HOUSTON – Harris County Commissioners unanimously voted to appoint Jonathan Fombonne as interim county attorney on Thursday, following Christian Menefee’s advancement to a runoff in the special election for Texas’s 18th Congressional District.
The vote came at the start of the Commissioners Court.
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Fombonne officially replaces Menefee, who resigned from the position due to his congressional run but remained in the role until a successor was selected.
“Thank you for the trust that you’ve placed in me. I appreciate the vote of confidence and the chance to serve as Harris County Attorney. I am grateful for it, and I take this job seriously,” Fombonne said.
He previously served as deputy county attorney and first assistant county attorney. In that role, he directly advised Menefee and oversaw all litigation and enforcement efforts within the Harris County Attorney’s Office, including the Affirmative Litigation, Compliance, Environmental, and Real Estate divisions. He also managed election-related matters and major public law issues and served as trial and appellate counsel on several of the office’s highest-profile cases.
Before joining the county, Fombonne was a partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP in Houston, where his practice focused on securities, bankruptcy, and complex commercial litigation. His legal career also includes work at national law firms in Texas and New York, as well as a federal clerkship for Judge Solomon Oliver Jr., former chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.
Fombonne is a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School and Swarthmore College. He lives in Houston with his wife and three children.
The appointment comes as Menefee and former Houston City Councilmember Amanda Edwards advance to a runoff election for the 18th Congressional District. Both Democrats were the top two finishers in the Nov. 4 special election but fell short of the 50% threshold needed to avoid a runoff in the 16-candidate field.
Menefee finished first with 28.9% of the vote, followed closely by Edwards at 25.6%.
The winner of the January runoff will head to Washington to serve out the remainder of former Democratic U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner’s term.
During Thursday’s meeting, Commissioners Court also passed a resolution recognizing Menefee for his tenure as Harris County attorney.
Voters will select a permanent county attorney in the March primary, with the general election scheduled for November.