HOUSTON — Houston Mayor John Whitmire and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo held a joint news conference for the first time Friday, as they discussed recovering from Thursday night’s storms.
And at one point, it got a little uncomfortable between the two.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo started the news conference by giving an update on the county and said she would later give an update in Spanish.
Hidalgo then yielded to Mayor Whitmire, who spoke of the city’s response. He thanked Hidalgo for bringing them together and said the collaboration was strong.
Whitmire tried to bring Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones up to talk, but Hidalgo interrupted him and said she needed to give the update in Spanish before she does.
That’s when things appeared to get tense.
Mayor Whitmire: "Can I yield to the commissioner for a moment?"
Judge Hidalgo: "Mayor, there's an impact in all four counties (precincts). And so whenever we have an impact on one county, the commissioner joins. But all four counties have been impacted. And I don't feel comfortable with giving special treatment. Everybody was notified that you, as the mayor and I as a county judge are speaking. I'm happy for them to join. But at least if you want her to speak, let me do the duty to the Spanish."
Mayor Whitmire: "Sure. I’m just glad I made, (inaudible), I'm glad I made the approval list."
It ended with Hidalgo saying to Whitmire, “This is a disaster. This is not the time."
You can see the full exchange below.
The relationship between Whitmire and Hidalgo has been the subject of media coverage. Tension between the two has been the subject of stories we’ve run on KHOU 11.
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