It’s no secret that the Fort Bend County Republicans and Democrats disagree on who should be sitting in the county judge’s seat, but it’s unclear which side will be the first to budge so they can set a tax rate.
State law mandates that four members of commissioners court must be present to vote on the tax rate, around which the county budget is formed. Since June 25, only three members of Fort Bend County Commissioners Court have been showing up to the panel’s twice-monthly meetings.
The court is scheduled to propose the 2026-27 tax rate this Thursday, August 13, and it must be adopted by September 30.
Fort Bend County Republicans maintain that Democratic Commissioners Dexter McCoy and Grady Prestage are holding the process hostage by refusing to participate in court proceedings. McCoy and Prestage say the meetings are illegal and the matter could be easily resolved if Daniel Wong gives up the judge’s seat during budget talks.
Wong, the GOP nominee for county judge, was appointed in April to serve on an interim basis, but was not elected to the post, and many — including Democrat County Attorney Bridgette Smith-Lawson — have opined that Wong’s appointment was voided on June 17.
McCoy is the Democratic nominee for county judge and will be facing Wong in a November 3 election. The judge’s seat became vacant earlier this year when County Judge KP George was suspended from office after being convicted of felony money laundering.
Smith-Lawson issued an opinion on June 24 saying Wong was no longer the judge. Wong disagreed. Smith-Lawson then sued Wong, asking for a court order that he be removed. That matter awaits a decision from District Judge Edward Krenek, a Republican who critics say has campaigned for Wong,
Last week, Krenek issued an “accelerated timeline” on the court proceedings. Briefs on temporary injunctive relief are due August 28, and motions are to be filed by September 10. A hearing on those motions is set for October 16; and, if the case is not resolved by then, then a trial will start on November 10.
The timeline is anything but accelerated, according to a Fort Bend County lawyer who has practiced in local courts and asked to remain anonymous. It appears the matter is being stalled because Krenek doesn’t want to rule against his fellow Republican Wong, and that’s his only legal option, the attorney said.
“This is extremely unusual; it’s a stall technique, and the stall only benefits Daniel Wong,” the attorney said. “It does not benefit the county or the county operations because it doesn’t provide an answer on the uncertainty.”
By the time the hearing is held in mid-October, the deadline to vote on the tax rate will have passed. If the matter goes to trial, it will happen after the November 3 election, at which time Fort Bend County voters will choose either McCoy or Wong to hold the seat for the next four years.
McCoy and Prestage have asked Wong to “do the statesman thing” and step aside from county meetings while the matter plays out in court. The Democrats have maintained that if it is later determined that Wong was illegally presiding as county judge, any vote taken during that time could be challenged and leave the county vulnerable to lawsuits and having to rebid projects.
Wong hired his own attorney, Chris Hilton, who claims that Wong remains the interim judge due to a “holdover provision” of the Texas Constitution, which says officers can continue performing their duties until successors are qualified. Wong’s team has characterized the absence of McCoy and Prestage as a dereliction of duties and abandonment of their constituents.
The Democrats have scoffed at the holdover provision argument, saying there’s no legal stipulation to allow him to remain in the seat. They’ve also balked at an assertion from Wong’s team that Wong can remain in the interim role because commissioners unanimously approved his swearing-in paperwork to be included in the public record.
So it appears, at least for now, McCoy and Prestage aren’t going to vote on the tax rate as long as Wong is sitting in the judge’s seat, and Wong isn’t going to give up his spot. That means that when the tax rate is proposed on Thursday, only three court members will be present: Wong and Republican commissioners Andy Meyers and Vincent Morales.
Meyers said last week he was disappointed that McCoy and Prestage “have publicly acknowledged the financial harm their continued boycott of commissioners court will cause Fort Bend County employees and taxpayers, yet they have made it clear they intend to continue anyway.”
If the required four members aren’t present for a tax rate vote, Fort Bend County employees could lose their proposed cost-of-living pay increase; major county infrastructure projects could be paused; and the county could face years of financial setbacks, according to a press release issued by Wong on August 5.
Wong cites advice from Budget Director Pamela Gubbels that while Texas law allows commissioners court to conduct most county business with a three-member quorum, state law requires four members to adopt the tax rate.
“If that quorum cannot be achieved, Texas law automatically establishes the county’s tax rate using the lower of the current year’s tax rate or the proposed year’s no-new-revenue tax rate,” the statement reads. “Gubbels advised commissioners court that, under those circumstances, the proposed cost-of-living adjustment for county employees would have to be removed from the Fiscal Year 2027 budget.”
“Our employees should never become casualties of a political boycott,” Wong said in a statement. “Our financial professionals made it clear that continued inaction threatens employee pay raises, critical infrastructure projects, and the county’s long-term financial stability,” Wong said.
“Commissioners Meyers, Morales, and I remain committed to completing the budget process, and I continue to call on Commissioners Prestage and McCoy to end their boycott and join us in completing this important work.”
In a two-minute video posted August 4, McCoy and Prestage called the situation “entirely avoidable” and said they wanted to protect the integrity of the county government. “We took an oath to uphold the constitution and laws of Texas,” Prestage said. “Until these legal questions are resolved or until Mr. Wong makes the gracious decision to sit out these critical votes while the court weighs in, we don’t believe we can participate in commissioners court.”
The Democratic commissioners issued a press release last week noting the importance of the upcoming tax rate vote and said that, “according to the county’s official legal guidance, all four duly elected commissioners must be present for the vote on the county tax rate and bond issuances.”
McCoy and Prestage claim Wong’s vote is not needed and only creates uncertainty on the validity of all commissioners court votes under Wong’s leadership. The commissioners acknowledged that Wong’s presence — which triggers their absence — jeopardizes proposed employee raises. It may also put Fort Bend County’s AAA bond rating in jeopardy, McCoy and Prestage said.
“There is still an opportunity to resolve this without putting the county at greater risk,” Prestage said. “I hope Mr. Wong will work with us so we can move forward, protect the county, and keep serving the people of Fort Bend County.”
McCoy called Wong’s insistence on presiding over court “a preventable crisis.”
“This is entirely in his control whether or not he will continue to put his own personal political interest above the people’s priorities,” McCoy said. “I pray he will do the right thing and put the people’s interests above his own personal political interest.”
Smith-Lawson also issued a statement last week, saying that “the merits of who lawfully holds the office remain for the courts to decide.”
“This office has consistently maintained that Mr. Wong has lacked lawful authority to perform the duties of county judge since June 17 and has deferred to the courts to decide the matter,” she said. “The county’s financial advisers and long-standing bond counsel have expressed serious concern about the consequences of prolonged uncertainty for county operations. This has never been a partisan or political action by this office. It is an unprecedented legal matter – no other county in Texas history has faced this same factual scenario – and it is properly before the court for resolution.”
Despite many of the involved parties saying that it’s not about partisan politics, courthouse watchdogs beg to differ, citing a history of political moves dating back to when George was still in office.
George switched parties to become a Republican during his legal battles in 2025. He then hired GOP strategist Jacob Lee to oversee a controversial redistricting process that evenly divided the county’s GOP and Democratic precincts, when previously there had been a 3-1 split in favor of the Dems. Lee now works in Wong’s office along with Bobby Eberle, a former Fort Bend County Republican Party chair, and Trever Nehls, the GOP nominee for a U.S. Congressional seat previously held by his twin brother Troy Nehls, a loyal Donald Trump supporter.
Fort Bend County found itself in its current predicament when visiting Republican District Judge Jeth Jones, back in April, simultaneously appointed Wong and removed George from office while presiding over a civil case in which George was accused of violating a resident’s First Amendment rights.
The civil case against George was dropped on June 17, and many interpreted that to mean Wong’s appointment ended and that the longest-serving commissioner, Prestage, would oversee commissioners court as the presiding officer.
On Monday, Jones denied a motion to modify the order that appointed Wong to the interim role. Dennis Spellman, a staffer for Meyers, reported the information on his Covering Katy News website. Smith-Lawson recently accused Spellman and Meyers of misrepresenting information to confuse the public and attack the county attorney’s office.
If Wong steps away from his appointed role, the court would be split down the middle with two Republicans and two Democrats. If only four commissioners are serving with no judge, a tie vote means the motion fails.
