Lina Hidalgo returns to Houston after weeks away, employee says

Dominic Anthony Walsh/Houston Public Media

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo planned to return to Houston on Wednesday to help with emergency recovery after a week-long vacation, one of her staffers said.

Hidalgo’s office said on January 4 that she would be taking a “brief” personal leave to visit her ailing grandfather in her native Colombia, and at the time assumed she would be away for about a week. But on Wednesday, an employee said Hidalgo had taken a pre-planned vacation following her visit to Colombia.

The county’s top official, a 31-year-old Democrat who was granted a second term by voters in November, flew back to Houston Wednesday afternoon and planned to meet with officials in Pasadena, which was hit by a tornado on Tuesday. in her office.

“She’s heading straight from the airport to Pasadena,” said an employee who asked not to be identified. “The holidays are over. She’s jumping into the fight again.”

Some members of our community are waking up from yesterday’s tornado damage.

Our team is working around the clock with the leaders of the most affected jurisdictions to help residents recover and keep people safe (1/4)

— Lina Hidalgo (@LinaHidalgoTX) January 25, 2023

On Wednesday morning, Hidalgo tweeted a series of tweets about the impact of Tuesday’s severe weather, which included heavy rain in the region, as well as a tornado that hit Pasadena and the nearby communities of Deer Park and Pearland. More than 20,000 homes in the Houston area were without power as of Wednesday afternoon, according to CenterPoint Energy.

This was the first time Hidalgo had posted on her personal Twitter account since the start of the new year.

Her staff member said Wednesday that Hidalgo planned to return to the Harris County Court of Commissioners at its next scheduled meeting on January 31, “assuming there are no other natural disasters.”