With County Judge Lina Hidalgo, Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia and new Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones beginning their terms, the county appears poised to continue the progressive policies that have been advanced since the court majority flipped in 2018.⁠ ⁠ While judges and other countywide officers took the oath of office administered by U.S. District Judge Alfred Bennett, Hidalgo skipped the ceremony, arriving late and taking the microphone to deliver an unscheduled 10-minute speech after the Pride Chorus Houston had performed its closing song and many officials, including Garcia and Briones, had left the stage.⁠ ⁠ "My fellow commissioners tried to cut me out of the program," Hidalgo told the audience. "They can't take two women in power. Today when Commissioner Briones is sworn in, we will have for the first time two women."⁠ ⁠ Click the link in our bio to read more.