(CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS) Fort Bend County Commissioner Dexter McCoy used the Texas Democratic Convention stage to argue that Texas families are struggling under rising costs and leaders who, he said, have failed to deliver on their promises.
“If your family is paying more and getting less, if you still can’t count on the lights staying on after a storm, if you are worried about your kids’ safety at school, and if owning a home feels further away than ever,” McCoy said, “maybe Republicans should stop writing checks that their asses can’t cash.”
McCoy, the Democratic nominee for Fort Bend County Judge, delivered the remarks as Fort Bend County remains at the center of a political and legal fight over the future of the county judge’s office following the suspension of County Judge KP George and the appointment of interim County Judge Daniel Wong.
The dispute escalated this week when Democratic members of Commissioners Court walked out during a contentious meeting involving questions over Wong’s authority and the legal challenges surrounding his appointment.
McCoy used the statewide Democratic gathering to frame the county judge race as part of a broader fight over accountability, representation and who holds political power.
“I’m running because the people of Fort Bend deserve a government that works for them,” McCoy said.
During his speech, McCoy pointed to his personal history as the foundation for his approach to public service. He told attendees he grew up as the son of teenage parents in a small rural Louisiana town before moving to Texas.
“I know what it’s like to go without opportunity, because the people in power wrote rules that didn’t work for families like mine,” McCoy said.
McCoy highlighted his work on education access, his service in President Barack Obama’s administration and his efforts as the youngest commissioner ever elected in Fort Bend County history to expand internet access to rural communities.
He then turned his attention to Republican leadership in Texas.
“Republicans have controlled this entire state for my entire life,” McCoy said. “They’ve had decades to build the Texas that they promised us.”
McCoy argued that voters should question whether those promises have been fulfilled, pointing to concerns over affordability, infrastructure, school safety and housing.
The commissioner also addressed Fort Bend’s political history, describing the county as a place that has repeatedly fought over the meaning of representation and democracy.
McCoy referenced the Jaybird-Woodpecker War, an 1888-1889 political conflict in Fort Bend County that erupted over control of county government after Reconstruction. The conflict involved the Jaybirds, a faction seeking to regain control of county politics, and the Woodpeckers, a coalition that included Black elected officials and their supporters. The aftermath reshaped local politics for decades, including the creation of a whites-only primary system that was later challenged in court.
McCoy pointed to Fort Bend resident Arizona Fleming, a civil rights activist who helped challenge the Jaybird primary system. Fleming was part of the legal fight that eventually reached the U.S. Supreme Court in Terry v. Adams, a decision that struck down the Jaybird primary and protected Black voters’ ability to participate in Fort Bend elections.
The commissioner argued that Fort Bend’s history shows that political change has often come through people willing to challenge entrenched systems.
He criticized what he called “corrupt politicians cutting backroom deals, bending the law, rewarding political allies and rigging our maps through unprecedented mid-decade redistricting.”
“That ain’t democracy,” McCoy said. “That ain’t Texan, and it sure ain’t Fort Bend.”
McCoy urged supporters to view Fort Bend as a model for statewide change.
“To my Black and Brown Texans, my Asian and Latino Texans, and to my white brothers and sisters,” McCoy said, “if Fort Bend can fight and win, Texas can fight and win. If Fort Bend can go blue, Texas can go blue.”
The speech reinforced McCoy’s effort to elevate the Fort Bend County Judge race beyond a local contest, presenting the county as a testing ground for competing visions of Texas leadership.