THE LEAD’S EDITORIAL: Leadership during crisis requires more than campaign rhetoric

Lt. Governor Dan Patrick’s public criticism of Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly during last week’s flood hearings was an unnecessary attack on local leadership during a time when Texans need unity, not political theater. While Patrick accused Kelly of being “nowhere to be found” on July 4th, the real question voters should ask is where Patrick’s leadership was during the 88th and 89th legislatures when flood infrastructure investments could have prevented this tragedy.

Missing Priorities When They Mattered Most

Patrick’s 30 legislative priorities for the 88th session in 2023 included cultural war issues like banning drag shows and removing district attorneys, but flood infrastructure was nowhere on his list. The closest item was Senate Bill 28, addressing “Texas’ Future Water Needs” — a general water supply bill that did nothing to address the urgent flood warning systems that state agencies had already identified as critical needs.

The Upper Guadalupe River Authority’s flood warning system ranked second on the Texas Water Development Board’s priority list for 2024-2025, yet the state offered only a paltry 5% funding match for the $1 million project. UGRA faced an impossible choice: accept the inadequate state support, take on a 95% loan requiring voter approval, or drain their reserve funds to protect Kerr County residents.

This wasn’t bureaucratic oversight — it was a policy failure. State agencies had done their homework, ranking flood warning systems as top priorities. The Guadalupe Regional Flood Planning Group recommended the system in 2023. Yet when it came time to fund these life-saving measures, the state’s commitment was shamefully inadequate.

UGRA’s predicament illustrates the impossible position Patrick’s neglect created. The agency underwent major transformation in 1998, divesting itself of water supply infrastructure and treatment facilities that once formed its operational core. Today’s UGRA employs just eight full-time workers with a $2.3 million budget — a far cry from the 1988 agency that raised taxes 46% for flood warning systems while operating water treatment plants and managing major infrastructure.

Too Little, Too Late

Only after 117 people died in the July 4th floods in Kerr County did Patrick suddenly discover flood infrastructure as a priority for the 89th special session. This reactive approach to governing costs lives. The special session that Patrick now champions for flood measures is the same session where Republican legislators are pushing partisan redistricting to gain five new congressional seats — hardly the urgent, focused response that such a tragedy demands.

UGRA’s 2025 budget shows the impossible position Patrick’s neglect created. With revenues of $1.76 million and expenses of $2.35 million, UGRA had to tap surplus funds just to maintain basic operations. The rejected state grant would have required a $950,000 loan — nearly half the agency’s annual budget — to complement just $50,000 in state funding. For an agency that operates no emergency response functions and doesn’t directly communicate with local officials during disasters, this was financially untenable.

Where Leadership Failed

Representative Drew Darby correctly challenged UGRA during the hearings, questioning why the authority delayed implementing an early warning system despite having identified the need since 2015. But Darby’s criticism missed the mark — UGRA had tried repeatedly to secure grants in 2017 and 2018, only to be denied by state agencies. When they finally received state attention in 2024, the 5% match was insulting given the documented risk to human life.

The Houston Chronicle investigation that influenced lawmakers’ questioning failed to acknowledge UGRA’s institutional transformation since the 1990s. Committee members expected UGRA to function like larger river authorities with extensive emergency management capabilities, not understanding that today’s UGRA focuses primarily on water quality monitoring rather than emergency response coordination.

Judge Kelly may have been at Lake Travis when the floods began, but Patrick was absent when it mattered most — during legislative sessions when proper funding could have prevented the disaster entirely. Emergency response coordination happens in minutes and hours; proper flood infrastructure planning happens over years and decades.

Real Leadership Demands Better

The Kerr County flood was a “thousand-year event,” but the state’s inadequate preparation made it a preventable tragedy. While Patrick now promises action in future sessions, Texas families shouldn’t have to wait for the next disaster to see their lieutenant governor prioritize public safety over political posturing.

Real leadership means identifying critical infrastructure needs before they become headlines. It means funding state agencies’ recommendations rather than forcing local authorities to choose between financial ruin and public safety. Most importantly, it means taking responsibility for policy failures rather than deflecting blame onto local officials who were left to manage the consequences of state-level neglect.

Patrick owes Kerr County residents — and all Texans — an explanation for why flood infrastructure wasn’t a priority until people died. The lieutenant governor’s office demands more than crisis-driven campaign rhetoric; it requires the foresight to prevent tragedies before they occur.