ELEVATE STRATEGIES

A judge has decided to recuse herself from the case involving three of Judge Lina Hidalgo's senior staffers charged in an $11 million COVID-19 vaccine outreach contract controversy.

Three senior staffers for Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo made their first court appearance on Tuesday. The trio was indicted in an investigation surrounding an $11,000,000 COVID-19 outreach contract that was previously awarded to Elevate Strategies.

A new search warrant has emerged in the criminal investigation focused on how an $11-million dollar vaccine outreach contract was awarded by Harris County to Elevate Strategies.

Harris County Lina Hidalgo said she didn't believe there was enough information to justify firing her employees.

Harris County, Texas – In a unanimous September 14 vote, the Harris County Commissioners Court agreed to terminate an $11 million contract meant to set up a community outreach campaign to encourage vaccination against COVID-19. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo began pushing for an independent contractor to run an outreach campaign in March 2021, prompting the county to publish a request for proposals. On the same day of the vote to terminate, Harris County Purchasing Agent DeWight Dopslauf affirmed that the Elevate Strategies contract was handled the same way as all contracts that commissioners approve or reject. As a basis for her actions, she claims that the matter had become so politicized that it was beginning to undermine Harris County residents’ trust in the county’s efforts and was becoming counterproductive. The county has paid over $500,000 to Elevate Strategies since the contract began in early July.