2023
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Redistricting Turner under investigation for using county employees to care for elderly mother lawyer By Ken Fountain The investigation is being handled by the disputes county Harris County District Attorney’s Office because Fort Bend County District Attorney Brian Fort Bend County Tax Assessor-Collector Middleton has recused himself because of a attorney’s Carmen Turner is being investigated for allega- prior case he represented Turner on while he she directed county employees to provide was an attorney in private practice, according assertion that tions care for her elderly mother while they were to Fort Bend County First Assistant District on the county’s clock, according to affidavits Attorney Wesley Wittig, spokesman for the recently unsealed search warrants. office. he shouldn’t supporting In the search warrants, which were signed Turner, a Democrat who was first elected to her position in 2020 and reelected in 2024, has by 400th District Judge Edward Krenek on Fort Bend County Tax Assessor-Collector Carmen be paid not been indicted, according to court records, October 15, Karlnetta Coleman, an investiga- Turner is being investigated for directing county KFOUNTAIN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
By Ken Fountain KFOUNTAIN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
The outside attorney who advised Fort Bend County’s citizens advisory committee in the recent, highly contentious redistricting effort is challenging County Attorney Bridgette Smith-Lawson’s assertion that his firm’s engagement was illegal and therefore it should not be paid. In an October 24 letter to the office Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Richard Morris of the Houston-based Rogers, Morris & Groves law firm weighs in on a pending legal opinion from Paxton on whether Smith-Lawson has sole authority over the county’s civil legal affairs, which she maintains and which the Republican majority on Commissioners Court disputes. Meanwhile, n on in her own May 27 letter, Smith-Lawson weighed in the pending opinion request, which was submitted in April by Republican Texas Rep. Gary Gates, whose 28th District includes much of Fort Bend County. Whether Morris would be paid was the subject of intense debate between commissioners, SmithLawson and Morris himself during the October 23 Commissioners Court meeting, which ended in a shouting match. That had followed a specially called meeting on October 15, when the court voted along party lines to pass a new map of the county’s four precincts, the culmination of a rare, contentious mid-decade redistricting effort.
nor any of the current or former employees who were part of the alleged scheme. The alleged crime would be abuse of official capacity, a felony.
tor with the Public Integrity Unit of the Fort
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employee to care for her elderly mother while being paid by the county. Here, she is seen speaking to Commissioners Court during a meeting last month. Photo by Ken Fountain
Community rallies after Fort Bend Seniors Meals on Wheels announces delivery cuts By Juhi Varma CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Fort Bend Seniors Meals on Wheels announced October 27 that it will cut back its weekly meal deliveries after federal funding reductions and is appealing to the community for support. “The reduction translates to nearly 70,000 fewer meals over the next year unless we fill the gap,” said Doug Simpson, executive director of Fort Bend Seniors Meals on Wheels. “The five- meal model gives us some flexibility in the short term, but it isn’t a long-term solution.” Roughly 1,000 homebound seniors in Fort Bend and Waller counties will feel the effects of the change going into the new year. The community has rallied in response – organizing food drives, pledging donations, and offering support to help bridge the funding gap. H-E-B has pledged $45,000, while NRG and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas have also stepped forward to assist. “Our community’s response has been deeply moving,” Simpson said.
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Because of federal funding cuts, Fort Bend Seniors Meals on Wheels will reduce its home-delivered meals from seven per week to five starting January 1, the nonprofit announced last week. Courtesy Fort Bend Seniors Meals on Wheels
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