We often think Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo is the worst elected official in Texas, but Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins is giving her a run for her money.
A quick note to those who don't live in Texas: in the Lone Star State a "county judge" is kind of like the mayor of the county.
Yesterday Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins publicly shamed people for driving in cars because for some reason dear ol' Clay seems to think if you're sitting in a car during a health crisis you might become a risk to people who aren't in the car with you or something to that extent.
There are a lot more cars on the roads this week. That’s a concern. If a few of us slack off on making good personal responsibility decisions we not only put #publichealth at risk but are prolonging this for ourselves and everyone.
Of course his complaint makes no sense: if we're supposed to be social distancing during the coronavirus then someone sitting alone in a vehicle (with the windows rolled up or down) isn't a risk to anyone.
So why is Clay Jenkins such a statist control freak? We don't know, but he also demanded the closure of all the Hobby Lobbys across the region because apparently if you purchase fabric to make your own medical masks you're also endangering the public's health.
Again, it doesn't make sense but Clay Jenkins has proven to be an incompetent leader and an equally terrible person so the bar was already set pretty low.
DALLAS, TX - OCTOBER 20: Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins reads a written statement from a county disease tracker who worked with people who had been in close contact with an Ebola victim during a news conference at the Dallas County Administration Building October 20, 2014 in Dallas, Texas. Officials announced that 43 of the first wave of 48 people being monitored for having contact or potential contact with Thomas Eric Duncan are officially off of the list for twice-daily monitoring for Ebola and all remained asymptomatic throughout the process. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)