Fort Bend County Judge KP George was suspended from office Friday following his felony money laundering conviction, a rare move that removes the county’s top elected official from power and puts county government under temporary leadership.
During a brief hearing in Fort Bend County’s 400th District Court, visiting Judge Jeth Jones of Galveston ordered George suspended and appointed Daniel Wong, the Republican nominee for county judge, as temporary replacement while the civil removal case remains pending.
George, who was convicted March 20 on felony charges tied to his handling of campaign finances during his 2018 campaign, was not present for the proceeding.
Wong will take office once George posts a required $50,000 bond, a standard condition under Texas law for elected officials and temporary appointees, before they assume office, Assistant District Attorney Wes Wittig said Friday.
The suspension stems from a civil removal petition filed by Fort Bend County resident Sarah Roberts under Chapter 87 of the Texas Local Government Code, which allows residents to seek removal of county officers for official misconduct or incompetency. Roberts asked the court to suspend George immediately and appoint a replacement pending trial, arguing that his criminal conviction and broader alleged misconduct made him unfit to remain in office.
Wittig said the removal case was already underway before the money laundering trial concluded and was not triggered by the March verdict.
“This didn’t happen because of the trial and the outcome,” Wittig said. “It was already underway.”
According to Wittig, Roberts’ original lawsuit was rooted in allegations tied to George’s conduct during Commissioners Court, including claims that he cut off a speaker during public comment and told another resident she did not have First Amendment rights in the courtroom. Those incidents are cited in Roberts’ petition as evidence supporting her request for removal.
Roberts’ filing also lays out broader allegations against George, including campaign finance irregularities, misuse of government resources and conduct related to the separate misdemeanor misrepresentation-of-identity charge he still faces.
George formally contested the removal effort in a March 23 filing, when his attorney Jared Woodfill denied “each and every allegation” in Roberts’ amended petition and asked the court to rule in George’s favor.
See here for the previous update. According to the story, this is “the first time in modern county history that a sitting county judge has been suspended from office”. Congratulations on finding a new way to make history, I guess. I assumed that Fort Bend County Commissioners Court would have eventually removed him, and I guess that could still happen. I’m definitely not up on the relevant laws here. I don’t care for naming one of the candidates the interim Judge, for the same reason that I was not on board with Harris County Commissioners Court anointing a successor to Christian Menefee as County Attorney and was glad that they named as the interim someone who was not on the ballot. In this case it was a judge and not the Court, but the principle stands. It’s not right to try to influence the voters in this way.
Again, maybe this is even more temporary, and their Court will name someone to serve out the year. Whatever does happen, this has been a truly wild year in Fort Bend County. May y’all live in more boring times in 2027.
Charles: I am not certain on the law regarding County Commissioners, but I know that school district trustees and community college trustees cannot remove a fellow trustee – even when a crime is proven. Removal from office requires action by a District Court Judge.