Daniel Wong recently promised to earn the trust of Fort Bend County voters as their interim county judge, although he got the job without an election and then promptly staffed his office with far-right conservatives in a solidly purple community.
The actions led some to question whether a backroom deal was made to swing the November election in Wong’s favor.
When Wong was sworn into office on April 13, he said he could have turned down the job offered by Galveston County District Judge Jeth Jones but accepted it because “leadership could not wait.” Jones, a Republican, simultaneously removed former County Judge KP George from office while presiding over a civil matter in which George is accused of violating the First Amendment rights of speakers in commissioners court.
When Jones was asked by a KPRC reporter why he appointed Wong, he declined to comment, saying he could not discuss the matter because it involved a pending case. Because he hasn’t explained his decision, some critics speculate that a deal was made to help the party, even though Jones had the legal authority to make the appointment.
George was convicted in March of felony money laundering and faces a misdemeanor trial next month for making racist attacks from fake social media accounts to further his campaign for re-election. George was twice elected as a Democrat but switched parties last year in the midst of his legal troubles, flipping the Fort Bend County Commissioners Court to a 3-2 GOP majority.
George ran for a third term but came in last among five candidates in the Republican primary, with Wong securing the nomination. Democrats Dexter McCoy, the Precinct 4 commissioner, and Rachelle Carter, a municipal court judge, face off in a runoff next month and the winner will go up against Wong in November.
“The role was not something I had to accept,” Wong said at his swearing-in. “I had a choice, actually. I could have waited. I could have turned this down. I could have waited on the sidelines until November. Instead, I chose the hard road. Most people get 60 days to transition into this office. I barely got 60 hours. But the challenges that face this county are so big, so I stepped forward.”
At least a few people appear disappointed that Wong didn’t just wait until November and let the voters decide who they wanted to lead. McCoy’s campaign adviser Delilah Agho-Otoghile said in a statement that Jones “abandoned judicial independence and chose to put his thumb on the scale of our elections by blatantly selecting his own partisan candidate for the office.”
“While we agree that KP George should be suspended from office, whoever serves as interim judge should at least be someone who has demonstrated sound independent judgment and has the experience and respect of elected officials currently serving in office,” Agho-Otoghile said.
“Mr. Wong has no business serving in this position without an election and I am deeply concerned he was put in place only to continue KP George’s corrupt agenda. I immediately call on Mr. Wong to disclose what conversations and backroom deals have been made to try and give him an unethical leg up in the upcoming election.”
Carter’s response was softer. She said Wong’s appointment “could be viewed as creating an unfair advantage.” University of Houston political science professor Brandon Rottinghaus said there’s no question that putting a candidate in an interim post gives them “a leg up politically.”
“Voters respond differently to an incumbent versus someone who is not, but being an incumbent is a double-edged sword,” he said. “It means you’re liable for the mistakes you’ve made in office but if you’re only in office for nine months, the likelihood of you making a big mistake is pretty low.”
Although naming an interim who’s also on the November ballot is unusual, it isn’t unheard of. Last week, the Harris County Commissioners Court voted 3-2 to appoint Abbie Kamin, a Democrat running for county attorney, to the interim role for the office vacated by now-Congressman Christian Menefee. Jonathan Fombonne, a former deputy in the county attorney’s office, had been serving in the role since January.
County Judge Lina Hidalgo, a Democrat, and Commissioner Tom Ramsey, a Republican, voted against Kamin’s appointment.
“Appointing a candidate to the office they are currently seeking seems to be a blatant advantage,” Ramsey wrote on X. “Despite my vote against it, Commissioners Court has once again undermined the trust of Harris County residents.”
Hidalgo also said the appointment would give an advantage to the candidate of a particular party and referenced the situation in Fort Bend County. “I was just so appalled when I read the news about Fort Bend, and it doesn’t feel right for me to do the same thing that so appalled me,” she said.
It didn’t win Wong any bonus points with the Dems when he named Trever Nehls his chief of staff. Nehls’ twin brother, U.S. Congressman Troy Nehls, recently raved about President Donald Trump in the wake of the President’s release of an AI-generated image that showed Trump wearing a white robe with his hand on the forehead of a sick man. Critics said it appeared Trump was comparing himself to Jesus; Trump said he thought the picture depicted him as a doctor.
“I believe that Donald Trump is better than sliced bread,” Troy Nehls said in a CNN interview. “I think he’s almost a Second Coming, in my humble opinion. I think he’s done a fantastic job.”
The congressman also backed Trump on his tariff policy and wore a Trump mugshot T-shirt to one of former President Joe Biden’s State of the Union addresses. Troy Nehls, a former Fort Bend County sheriff, announced earlier this year that he would retire and his brother would run for his Texas District 22 House of Representatives seat. Trever Nehls won the Republican primary in March and will face Democrat Marquette Greene-Scott in November.
Trever Nehls said after his appointment as Wong’s chief of staff that the U.S. House seat remains his priority.
“I look forward to ensuring Judge Wong’s vision is carried out across the county government to deliver results for our community,” he said in a statement. “I want to be clear that my role as transitional chief of staff for Judge Wong is temporary. I am still dedicated and working hard to earn every voter’s trust in Texas’ 22nd Congressional District to represent them in the U.S. Congress.”
He continued by saying that he’ll use the experience as chief of staff to guide him as “your next voice in the U.S. House of Representatives.”
Political commentator Bobby Eberle, founder and owner of the conservative news site GOPUSA, was appointed Wong’s director of communications and does not appear to have plans to parlay his time at the Fort Bend County Courthouse into a run for office.
“Effective communication is essential to good government,” Eberle said in a statement. “Our goal is to ensure that residents understand what their county government is doing and why, while building trust through transparency, clarity, and consistent engagement.”
Eberle responded to a request for an interview with Wong by asking what questions would be posed. When told that the Houston Press wanted to know more about how Wong’s appointment came about, communication halted.
Rottinghaus said Wong’s staff appointments were bold. “Making choices based on these partisan outcomes can color voters’ impressions on what’s happening in the political world,” he said. “If voters are convinced that this is all about the politics, it may make them think twice about participating in the process. There’s a risk.”
Wong came to the United States from Macao, China, and has lived in Fort Bend County for 35 years. He owns an engineering firm and served as an at-large Sugar Land City Council member for six years. He holds bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees in civil engineering from the University of Houston and has a master’s in theology from Fuller Theological Seminary.
He has said that his priorities as judge are economic growth, infrastructure and flood protection, education and workforce development, and public safety.
“Today is not just a ceremony, it’s a turning point,” Wong said at his swearing-in. “The people of Fort Bend County deserve leadership that shows up, follows through and delivers results. We begin with a clear mission: to restore honor, integrity and trust to this office, not just in what we say but in how we govern, with transparency, with accountability, and with a commitment to put the people first.”
Wong’s appointment surprised many, especially since commissioners just voted in late March to name longtime Commissioner Grady Prestage as the court’s presiding officer, meaning Prestage would also serve as the county’s emergency management director in a disaster.
With Prestage essentially in charge, there were two Republicans and two Democrats on the court. A tie vote would result in a failed motion. While the Dems — Prestage and McCoy — seemed fine with that arrangement until voters could select a county judge in November, longtime Republican Commissioner Andy Meyers showed his support of Wong’s appointment, posting photos from the swearing-in and saying he looks forward to working with “Judge Wong.”
“Fort Bend County is one of the fastest-growing counties in Texas, and the work ahead demands strong, collaborative leadership,” Meyers said.
Rottinghaus said that government works best when it’s operating at full capacity, and particularly in the Fort Bend County situation, a case can be made that a leader was needed to make decisions and direct policy. But it would have made more sense if that leader were a more neutral figure, the professor said.
“You have to balance the need with the optics of making a political choice and putting someone in office before their time that gives them a political advantage,” he said. “I don’t know where to draw that line. We’re in a moment where partisanship rules the day and good governance tends to take a backseat. If there is a line to be drawn, it seems like people are more willing to let it be drawn closer to the partisan outcome than not.”
