By: Rebecca Langston-Brooks
In a dangerous, illegal, and racially motivated power grab, the Republican Commissioners,
joined by felony-indicted Republican County Judge KP George, attempted to strip the
constitutional authority of the duly elected Fort Bend County Attorney, Bridgette Smith-Lawson.
At the heart of this assault was an effort to hire an outside law firm—at the taxpayer’s
expense—to consult on redistricting the commissioner precincts. There were several problems
with this. One being commissioner precincts are typically redefined in accordance with census
data. The next census is not until 2030. This effort began with a letter from Rep. Matt Morgan to
the Commissioners, declaring Fort Bend County’s voter precincts illegal pursuant to Chapter 42
of the Texas Election Code. Morgan, who isn’t even an attorney—let alone an actual judge with
the authority to declare illegalities—followed suit with a statewide attempt by Republicans to
redistrict in favor of their party’s pending loss of power. Despite this, the taxpayer-funded Fort
Bend County Elections Administrator produced maps to resolve the alleged issues. However,
when Commissioners Court had the opportunity to vote to accept the maps during the July 5,
2025, meeting, the three Republicans voted against it and in favor of hiring a Republican-
recruited law firm with no experience redistricting a county the size of Fort Bend—indicating
this move was never about voter precincts. It was about a Republican Party so fearful of losing
power that they resorted to anything. Even racism.
This desperation was clearly evident during the July 22, 2025, Commissioners Court meeting, as
the corrupt Republicans attempted not only to sidestep the County Attorney’s authority, but to
discredit her in a barrage of racist dog-whistling attacks that would never have been spoken
about her predecessor. Also apparent were the Republican plants, masked as “concerned
citizens,” who spoke during public comments. They robotically repeated the same terribly
scripted narrative, laced with misinterpretations of the law and fake Attorney General Opinions.
“We have lost faith in the County Attorney.” It begged the question: did this group of
Republicans ever have faith in a Black woman County Attorney? Their voting precincts
indicated a strong “no,” despite Bridgette Smith-Lawson running unopposed in the last election.
However, never in history had the answer to “losing faith” in an elected official been to hire an
outside person to do their job. The answer was typically to run someone against them—which
the Republicans failed to do in 2024—or, if their actions were criminal, pursue charges. The
citizens of Fort Bend County, Democrats and Republicans alike, had lost faith in County Judge
KP George, yet no one petitioned to usurp his authority. Luckily for the citizens of Fort Bend
County, an orange jumpsuit awaited the disgraced judge.
To add insult to injury, the County Judge knowingly made false statements to the public,
accusing the County Attorney of illegally colluding with Commissioner Dexter McCoy. When
asked to clarify, the County Judge sat dumbfounded and couldn’t elaborate on his allegations.
Furthermore, when Commissioner Grady Prestage urged him to explain the circumstances that
would require Commissioners Court to override the County Attorney’s authority, he could not
respond. Apparently, his script hadn’t anticipated follow-up questions.
Because the attempted corruption clearly wasn’t going to go unchecked, Commissioner Andy
Meyers withdrew his motion to usurp the authority of the County Attorney. But the citizens of
Fort Bend County had reason to be deeply concerned. When elected officials could openly defy
constitutional limits, lie to the public, and weaponize legal tools for political gain, it wasn’t just
bad governance—it was a threat to democracy. It set a dangerous precedent that elected officials
could ignore the law when politically convenient. It granted Commissioners Court the power to
override the Constitution and remove the authority of any duly elected official for political gain.
The citizens of Fort Bend County deserved better.
