County · County Commissioner, Precinct 1 · Pct 1 · term ends 2028-12-31
· Harris County
Democrat. Official directory: Precinct 1 Rodney Ellis. Assumed office Jan 1, 2017 (Harris County Commissioners Court roster). Won a third term Nov 5, 2024 with 71.6% (259,713 votes) over Republican Gerry Vander-Lyn, 28.4% (102,842) (Ballotpedia; Click2Houston; Houston Public Media, certified). Four-year term, 2024 cycle; current term ends Dec 31, 2028. Precinct 1 was not on the Nov 3, 2026 ballot.
Not yet reviewed
0%kept rate
0 / 1kept / rated · LOW SAMPLE
0in progress (not in rate)
1promises tracked
Blocked by others: 1
Create a Harris County guaranteed-income pilot providing regular cash payments to low-income households.
Blocked by othersPoverty / income · stated 2023-06-05 · promise source · #186
Stated: Promise as stated in the cited source.
Why Blocked by others: Ellis championed Harris County's guaranteed-income pilots. Houston Public Media reported that Commissioners Court passed a program in June 2023 to provide $500 a month for 18 months to up to 1,500 low-income families (Uplift Harris). The Texas Tribune reported that on April 23, 2024, the Texas Supreme Court blocked the program before the first payments went out. Ellis's office announced on June 13, 2025 that the successor Community Prosperity Program was being ended before it fully launched, after more than a year of delays from a lawsuit filed by the Texas Attorney General's Office; Commissioners Court reallocated remaining funds to rental assistance, homelessness prevention, and food and nutrition services. Because a state court stay and the attorney general's litigation stopped the payments, the pledge is rated Blocked by others rather than Broken. (harris-research, 2026-11-10 20:45:37 UTC)
- cited 2023-06-05 · news · Houston Public Media: Harris County Commissioners Court passed a guaranteed-income program for 1,500 families, the initiative Ellis championed. — source
- cited 2024-04-23 · news · Texas Tribune: the Texas Supreme Court blocked Uplift Harris program payments before the first scheduled disbursements. — source
- cited 2025-06-13 · statement · Office of Commissioner Rodney Ellis news release: the Community Prosperity Program, designed to pay $500 monthly to more than 1,500 households for 18 months, was ended before it fully launched after delays from the attorney general's lawsuit; remaining funds were reallocated. — source
History (append-only)
- 2026-11-10 20:45:36 UTC · Not yet rated (superseded 2026-11-10 20:45:37) — Newly tracked; not yet reviewed against evidence.
- 2026-11-10 20:45:37 UTC · Blocked by others (current) — Ellis championed Harris County's guaranteed-income pilots. Houston Public Media reported that Commissioners Court passed a program in June 2023 to provide $500 a month for 18 months to up to 1,500 low-income families (Uplift Harris). The Texas Tribune reported that on April 23, 2024, the Texas Supreme Court blocked the program before the first payments went out. Ellis's office announced on June 13, 2025 that the successor Community Prosperity Program was being ended before it fully launched, after more than a year of delays from a lawsuit filed by the Texas Attorney General's Office; Commissioners Court reallocated remaining funds to rental assistance, homelessness prevention, and food and nutrition services. Because a state court stay and the attorney general's litigation stopped the payments, the pledge is rated Blocked by others rather than Broken.
- 2023-06-05 · step Stated (current) — source — Promise as stated in the cited source.