Christian Menefee

Christian Dashaun Menefee is an American attorney and politician who currently serves as County Attorney for Harris County, Texas. Elected in 2020, Menefee is the youngest person and first African-American to serve as chief civil lawyer for the largest county in Texas.[1][2][3]

Christian Menefee
County Attorney of Harris County
Assumed office
January 1, 2021
Preceded byVince Ryan
Personal details
BornHouston, Texas, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationUniversity of Texas at San Antonio (BA)
Washington University in St. Louis (JD)

Early career

Menefee was born in Houston, Texas and was the first from his family to attend college.[4] Menefee is a graduate of Alief Hastings High School,[4] University of Texas at San Antonio, and Washington University School of Law.[5][6] Prior to taking office, Menefee practiced law at Norton Rose Fulbright and Kirkland & Ellis LLP.[7] He noted that the 2016 United States Presidential Election made him want to enter politics, and that the office of County Attorney is "the perfect intersection of law and policy making."[4]

Harris County Attorney

Menefee defeated three-term incumbent Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan and another challenger in the March 2020 Texas Democratic Primary Election, and won the November 2020 General Election. [8] He took office in January, 2021. He was the youngest, and first African American to serve as Harris County Attorney. [9]

Menefee has filed several lawsuits and taken other legal action against Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. [10] He sued Texas officials over the voting restrictions law passed by the legislature in 2021, [11] and challenged state officials' demands to audit the 2020[8] and 2022[12] elections in Harris County. After state officials auditing the 2020 election announced they would send a contingent of inspectors to observe Harris County’s 2022 general election and perform random checks of election records, Menefee joined Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo in calling on the Department of Justice to send federal monitors to the county. [13] In 2021, after Harris County imposed a mask mandate for government buildings in the county, Menefee filed a lawsuit on behalf of Harris County against Texas Governor Greg Abbott over his ban on mask and vaccine mandates.[14] This led to appearances on national news networks such as MSNBC to explain his opposition to Abbott's policies.[15] The trial and appellate courts sided with Menefee in allowing Harris County's mask mandate to stand.[16]

In March 2022, when Greg Abbott issued a directive to Texas's child protective services agency (DFPS) to open investigations into "child abuse" by parents who provide gender-affirming care to their transgender children,[17] Menefee publicly refused to prosecute civil cases against those parents, publishing an open letter in The Daily Beast.[18]

Prior to the vote certification deadline for the November 2022 General Election, Menefee represented Harris County in a suit brought by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to void more than 2,000 votes cast pursuant to a court order extending polling hours by one hour in Harris County on Election Day.[19] The Texas Supreme Court sided with Harris County, ruling that it could count the ballots cast during the additional hour of voting.[20]

Menefee has used the Harris County Attorney’s Office to file a number of high-profile environmental lawsuits, including against Union Pacific in connection with creosote-related contamination in Houston’s Fifth Ward.[21] He has filed complaints with the EPA to investigate how the TCEQ grants permits to concrete batch plants.[22]

In January 2023, Menefee was appointed by United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael S. Regan to serve on the EPA’s Local Government Advisory Committee. [23]

References
  1. Strott, Savanna; Leffler, DAvid (2 June 2022). "A Texas county wants to punish polluters. The state won't let it". grist.org. Grist. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
  2. "UTSA welcomes Christian Menefee '10 for Black History Month keynote". www.utsa.edu. February 24, 2022. Retrieved 2023-01-19.
  3. Despart, Zach (2020-11-05). "Menefee elected as first African-American Harris County Attorney". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
  4. Lodhia, Pooja (26 May 2021). "History in the courtroom: Meet the youngest Harris County Attorney ever". ABC13. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
  5. "Christian Dashaun Menefee". Ballotpedia. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
  6. "UTSA welcomes Christian Menefee '10 for Black History Month keynote". www.utsa.edu. February 24, 2022. Retrieved 2023-01-19.
  7. The Editorial Board (October 2020). "Editorial: We recommend Christian Menefee for Harris County Attorney". The Houston Chronicle. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
  8. Grieder, Erica (13 March 2022). "Harris County Attorney Menefee thinks state leaders have been 'pushing us around.' He intends to push back". houstonchronicle.com. The Houston Chronicle. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
  9. Hee, Natalie (4 November 2020). "First African American elected as Harris County attorney". Fox 26 Houston. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
  10. Grieder, Erica (13 March 2022). "Harris County Attorney Menefee thinks state leaders have been 'pushing us around.' He intends to push back". houstonchronicle.com. The Houston Chronicle. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
  11. Schouten, Fredreka. "Federal judge blocks counties from charging Texas officials with crimes for encouraging mail-in voting". cnn.com. CNN. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
  12. KHOU 11 Staff (2 August 2022). "Harris County to pursue legal action in wake of 2022 election audit announcement". www.khou.com. KHOU 11. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
  13. Vigdor, Neil (2022-10-20). "Texas County Asks for U.S. Election Monitors as State Plans to Send Inspectors". The New York Times. Retrieved 2022-10-23.
  14. Williams, Jordan (13 August 2021). "Harris County files lawsuit against Abbott ban on mask mandates". www.thehill.com. The Hill. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
  15. "Texas Attorney: GOP governor's vaccine mandate ban is 'anti-business'". www.msnbc.com. MSNBC. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
  16. Lindell, Chuck. "Ruling against Abbott, Austin appeals court lets Harris County impose mask mandate". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
  17. Ecarma, Caleb (23 February 2022). "WHITE HOUSE TO TEXAS REPUBLICANS: DON'T BLOCK LIFE-SAVING CARE FOR TRANS YOUTH". www.vanityfair.com. Vanity Fair. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
  18. Menefee, Christian (March 2022). "Why I Won't Follow Gov. Abbott's Anti-Trans Order". The Daily Beast. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
  19. Tribune, Natalia Contreras, Votebeat and The Texas Tribune, and Roxanna Asgarian and Robert Downen, The Texas (2022-11-22). "Texas Supreme Court orders Harris County to include more than 2,000 late-cast ballots in certified election results". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved 2023-01-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  20. Best, Paul (2022-11-22). "Texas Supreme Court allows Harris County to count 2,000 votes after Election Day extension". Fox News. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
  21. Erdenesanaa, Delger (2022-10-05). "Christian Menefee Aims to Bring Polluters to Justice". The Texas Observer. Retrieved 2022-10-18.
  22. Melhado, William (2022-08-10). "EPA launches investigation into Texas environment agency's permitting process for concrete batch plants". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved 2022-10-18.
  23. "EPA Announces Appointments to Local Government Advisory Committee". The National Law Review. 2023-01-16. Retrieved 2023-01-19.
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