By threatening public safety grants, Greg Abbott exerts control over Texas cities

By threatening public safety grants, Greg Abbott exerts control over Texas cities

For the fourth time in less than four weeks, Gov. Greg Abbott has forced a Texas city to yield to his will by threatening to withdraw public safety grants administered by his office. In Texas, where Republicans dominate state leadership and Democrats hold sway in many big cities, the GOP governor is turbocharging the use of financial threats to force compliance on matters that typically fall under local control. The latest state-local clash came…