HOUSTON – Harris County District Clerk Marilyn Burgess says she will not run for reelection as district clerk in 2026 or seek any other political office after the Harris County Commissioners Court tabled her request for a salary increase last week.
Burgess explained why she filed for a salary grievance, saying she is “deeply concerned” about the salary disparities of Harris County elected officials and some appointed county officials and high-level county employees.
Burgess herself sat on the board of the Salary Grievance Committee. Its a point that raised eyebrows during Thursday’s commissioners court meeting.
“I’ve been in this arena for a bit and it normally was a third-rail for an elected official to stand here and say pay me more money so I’m not sure whether to respect you or to think otherwise that you would argue for your own salary,” Harris County Pct. 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia said to Burgess during Thursday’s meeting. “I don’t even know if it was legal to have done this.”
Burgess released a lengthy statement Monday, explaining the process she went through and why she did it.
“The Texas Local Government Code outlines two options to form a Salary Grievance Committee: A panel of nine public members randomly selected from a list of individuals who served on a grand jury in the previous calendar year or a committee made up of six countywide elected officials, with former grand jurors added to reach nine voting members. The Harris County Commissioners Court opted for the second option and this is how the committee that heard my grievance was formed. As part of this process, the County Attorney’s Office confirmed it is legal under Texas law that I, as a grievant, participated as a voting member of the Salary Grievance Committee,” Burgess said in a statement.
On September 16, the committee voted to make a recommendation to Commissioners Court to raise the district clerk’s salary to $260,000 per year. That would be a $81,000 raise compared to the 2025 salary of $179,420.
However, Burgess explained her reasoning for the request.
“For perspective, Commissioners Court approved a 23% raise for the eight Harris County constables in 2024, which saw their salaries increase from $144,279 to $178,000. Then, earlier this month, Commissioners Court approved yet another raise for the constables, which will make them earn $260,000 starting in Fiscal Year 2026. With over 600 employees, a budget of more than $60 million, and multiple statutory duties that include managing jury service and supporting more than 100 courts, I have a bigger staff to manage and more responsibilities to fulfill as District Clerk than several of our constables do. By asking for a salary raise, I was trying to be on par with constables because I think it is fully justified,” she said.
She also pointed out what she says is her deep concern of skyrocketing raises multiple county officials have seen over the past few years. Burgess provided a spreadsheet of salaries for various county officials as well as the percentage of increase they have seen in their salary since 2019.
“In some cases, the people holding these county positions are earning annual salaries higher than $400,000. This is more than what the President of the United States is paid,” she said. “I filed my salary grievance and stood by it to expose the concerning disparity between the salaries of elected officials and other county positions that do not have as many responsibilities. In addition, I also wanted to raise my voice one more time about the fact the employees of the District Clerk’s Office are some of the lowest paid in Harris County, while in many cases their training is more strict and arduous than that of people who work for other county agencies. With this statement, I am also announcing I will not run for reelection as District Clerk in 2026 and I will not pursue any other political office either. I will continue to work hard every day and do the best I can for this office for the balance of my term.”