Lina Hidalgo
Lina Maria Hidalgo (born February 19, 1991) is an American politician in the state of Texas. She is the county judge of Harris County, the third-most populous county in the United States.[1] Hidalgo is the first woman and the first Latina to be elected to this office. Notwithstanding the label, the position of county judge is for the most part a nonjudicial position in Texas.[2] Hidalgo functions as the county's chief executive and its emergency manager.[3] She oversees a budget of over $4 billion.[4]
Lina Hidalgo
Early life and career[edit]
Hidalgo was born in Bogota, Colombia, on February 19, 1991. Her family left Colombia when she was five years old, and lived in Peru and Mexico City before moving to Houston, Texas when she was 15.[5][1]
Hidalgo graduated from Seven Lakes High School in Katy, Texas, and then attended Stanford University, graduating with a degree in political science in 2013.[5][1] Her honors thesis was titled "Tiananmen or Tahrir? A Comparative Study of Military Intervention Against Popular Protest."[1]
That same year, Hidalgo became a U.S. citizen.[6][7][8][9] Upon graduation from Stanford, Hidalgo received the Omidyar Network Postgraduate Fellowship to work with an international organization.[10] She moved to Thailand, where she worked for the Internews Network, an international nonprofit dedicated to training journalists and advocating for press freedom.[7]
After returning to the U.S., Hidalgo worked as a medical interpreter at the Texas Medical Center in Houston and volunteered for the Texas Civil Rights Project.[11][12][13] During this time, she was accepted into the MPP/JD joint program at the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government and New York University School of Law, respectively. Though Hidalgo originally planned to pursue a career in health care and criminal justice, the 2016 election inspired her to put her academic ambitions on hold and run for public office instead.[14][9]
County Judge of Harris County[edit]
2018 election[edit]
Hidalgo ran for County Judge of Harris County in the 2018 elections. She was unopposed in the Democratic Party primary election and faced incumbent Ed Emmett in the general election. Hidalgo ran on a platform focused on flood control, criminal justice reform, and increasing transparency and accountability in local government.[15] She defeated Emmett on November 6, becoming the first woman and Latina elected to the office of Harris County Judge. Her victory was considered an upset and attracted national attention, with a large and diverse coalition of activists and organizations leading her to a narrow 19,400-vote victory.[13] The election also switched majority control of Harris County Commissioners Court, over which Hidalgo presides, from Republicans to Democrats.
Personal life[edit]
Hidalgo's boyfriend, David James, works as a civil rights and personal injury attorney. She completed an Ironman Triathlon in November 2022.[32]
Hidalgo was diagnosed with clinical depression in July 2023 and announced a temporary leave of absence to undergo treatment.[33] On September 14 she announced plans to return to office in early October.[34]