HCFCD Executive Director Resigns Under Pressure
6/11/26 – Commissioner’s decided to take no action on the question of Dr. Tina Petersen’s continued employment as head of the Harris County Flood Control District. Again. However, after commissioners returned from executive session, she promptly resigned before the meeting was over.
Playing Dodgeball
Before the executive session, Petersen played dodgeball in the dock for 94 minutes re: her plan to avoid losing $322 million dollars in Federal funding. Here is a transcript of the discussion and a Powerpoint describing the plan. Judging by commissioners’ questions, her presentation/explanation was hard to understand.
Despite Petersen repeatedly refusing to give direct answers to questions about the plan, Commissioners Court approved it as the best available option to skirt an imminent deadline. Petersen never did address what would happen after the immediate deadline to another half billion dollars of federal funding with an early 2028 deadline.
But she avoided the elephant in the room – what she was doing, if anything, to speed up project execution. Instead she talked in vague terms about “acceleration strategies” that would yield tens of millions of dollars in savings which could be reinvested in additional projects. It all sounded a bit too good to be true given the dire situation.
Commissioners tried to pin her down on the savings, but with little success. What Petersen didn’t say was that the savings she promised likely came from a consultant she hired who radically overestimated construction costs.
Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia has been one of Petersen’s biggest fans. He reportedly recommended hiring her. He also defended her today. Garcia even offered a factually incorrect timeline in an attempt to rewrite history and support his protege. But thankfully County Judge Lina Hidalgo corrected him.
Petersen’s Resignation Announcement
After the executive session, Petersen announced her resignation in an email to employees. The letter enumerates what she believes her accomplishments were during her four and a half years in the office.
She called her work “transformational.” She also talked about:
- “…tremendous strides toward becoming a more effective, accountable, and forward-looking agency.”
- Her maintenance tax increase
- “…staying on track with key milestones.”
- Prioritizing “much needed transparency.”
- “…accountability…”
- “…leading the charge…”
Petersen just left out the part about endangering almost a billion dollars in federal funding.
I can’t speak to all of her claims. But “transparency” triggered a belly laugh.
Replacement Not Announced Today
At this hour, the major question is, “Who will replace Petersen?” Reportedly, the announcement will be made on June 25th at the next Business Court Meeting.
Another major question: Will voters re-elect Adrian Garcia? He got us in this mess. He also continued to defend Petersen long after it became clear she wasn’t achieving results.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/11/2026
3208 Days since Hurricane Harvey
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