Patel running for Fort Bend board
Taral Patel, a former chief of staff for Fort Bend County Judge KP George, has announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination next spring to be the county’s Precinct 3 commissioner.
Patel, 29, said his platform includes attracting high-paying jobs to the county, addressing potholes and implementing flood mitigation measures. He is vying for a seat held since 1997 by Republican Andy Meyers, whose office confirmed that he will seek re-election.
“I am running for Precinct 3 commissioner because we must build a stronger Fort Bend,” Patel said Tuesday. “As a Fort Bend native, I want our community to be the best place in the U.S. and across the world to raise a family and start and grow a business.
“We have to take flood mitigation seriously, because in a few days, it’s hurricane season,” he said. “We must think about what we can do to prepare for the future.
“The other thing that I’m super passionate about is increasing the community engagement. The budget is decided by the four commissioners and the county judge. I want to bring residents into that process. Let’s finally start making decisions in the open and invite residents and businesses from across Fort Bend to make their voices heard on important issues.”
Meyers declined to comment. “I’m going to respect the primary process and let the Democrat voters select their candidate before commenting on who they choose,” he said.
The Democratic primary will be March 5 and the election will be the following November.
Patel served as George’s chief of staff from 201921, leaving just after Winter Storm Uri, which occurred in February 2021.
“I’ve been involved in the Fort Bend County community for over a decade now,” Patel said. “And while I never considered running for office myself, I’ve worked in local, state and federal government helping create programs like child care assistance opportunities for working families, set up the COVID-19 vaccination sites in the county, (helped) bring major employers like Amazon to Fort Bend and much more.”
Patel grew up in Sugar Land, Stafford, Missouri City and Cinco Ranch, attending schools there before earning a bachelor’s degree in government and biology at the University of Texas at Austin. Patel has a Juris Doctor degree from the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University in Arlington, Va.
Patel said his experience also includes working in the Public Integrity Section of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division and as a legislative staff member for the Texas House of Representatives, in which he focused on committees for transportation and government accountability and transparency.
Patel was appointed by President Joe Biden in early 2021 to serve as White House liaison to work on matters related to housing, urban development and disaster recovery and resilience.
Patel said his role involved coordinating among various agencies to advance White House priorities. This entailed working on initiatives such as the American Rescue Plan legislation, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, Patel said.
Patel was also a member of the White House Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Committee, according to his website.