Harris County judge candidates Letitia Plummer, left, and Orlando Sanchez squared off in a live debate Thursday hosted by Houston Public Media in partnership with the Houston Chronicle, Univision 45 and the University of Houston’s Hobby School of Public Affairs.
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Harris County judge candidates Letitia Plummer and Orlando Sanchez faced off in their latest debate Thursday evening, discussing their positions on the county budget, criminal justice, immigration and more.
The event — which was hosted by Houston Public Media in partnership with the Houston Chronicle, Univision 45 and the University of Houston’s Hobby School of Public Affairs — was the last scheduled debate between Plummer, the Democratic nominee, and Sanchez, the Republican, before Election Day on Nov. 3.
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The debate was moderated by Houston Public Media’s Shelby Rose, and the Chronicle’s Harris County reporter, John Lomax V, was among the journalists posing questions to the candidates.
Plummer, a former Houston City Council member, is leading Sanchez in the polls. Sanchez is also a former Houston City Council member and former Harris County treasurer.
Here are five key takeaways from Thursday’s debate:
Immigration
President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown and its effects on Harris County residents emerged in several questions posed to the candidates.
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Sanchez and Plummer both agreed that Harris County law enforcement officers should not be involved in immigration enforcement, but acknowledged state laws which require county sheriffs to cooperate with ICE through models known as 287(g) agreements. Plummer said she would not fund line items in the budget which would be related to 287(g), though part of those costs could be recouped by a state grant program.
While Plummer and Sanchez largely agreed on many issues, but differed on how they would handle the Harris County Immigrant Legal Services Fund, which pays for legal assistance to migrants facing deportation. The program was temporarily halted by the Texas Supreme Court this summer and remains in limbo.
IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT: Texas sheriffs will soon be required to work with ICE. Some are hesitating.
Sanchez said he would scrap the program, saying that the county can’t afford to represent hundreds of thousands of immigrants living in the country illegally. He proposed partnering with non-profits — who already provide the services in question and are reimbursed by the county under the current program — or attorneys working pro bono to help fill the gap.
Plummer said she would continue to defend the program, arguing that immigrants living in the country illegally contribute to the tax base and “deserve an opportunity to have support from a legal perspective.”
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County jail
Another key point of disagreement was how the county should address the overcrowded and unsafe Harris County Jail.
Sanchez said the county has wasted money trying to rehabilitate the jail to no affect and proposed building a new facility, noting that the county is sitting on “unperforming assets” north of downtown.
“We need to redevelop that, increase the tax base for both the city and the county and buy land where its cheaper and build a state-of-the-art criminal justice with an adjoining mental health facility,” Sanchez said.
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Plummer said we need to “create a new jail in the exact same location” because relocating the facility could make it harder for families to visit inmates. She said she would support District Attorney Sean Teare’s diversion programs and end the county’s outsourcing of inmates to other states.
Establishing relationships
Sanchez and Plummer both emphasized the importance of the county’s relationship with city, state and federal partners, which has been strained in recent years, and pledged to improve transparency and efficiency in county operations.
Both candidates agreed to maintain public comment portions of Commissioners Court meetings, which can sometimes last more than eight hours. But both also suggested tweaks to the system to streamline the process and make it more accessible — Sanchez pointed to Houston City Council’s model of splitting public comment and voting into two separate days, while Plummer noted the city’s newly implemented evening sessions for public comment.
The candidates also both promised to work across party lines to accomplish their goals, and suggested working with state agencies such as the Texas Department of Public Health and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to address issues here in Harris County.
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Both agreed the county needs to maintain local control amid pressure from the state Legislature, with Plummer saying that the county cannot “be bullied.”
But when Plummer decried the state takeover of Houston ISD as an example of the state’s overreach, Sanchez used it as an opportunity to attack his opponent.
“Again, here’s the example of a toxic relationship already developing with the executive of the state of Texas,” Sanchez said.
Flock
Sanchez and Plummer both took moderate approaches to the use of Flock cameras by Harris County law enforcement, but Plummer went a step further by saying she would rescind the contract until more guardrails could be put in place.
Sanchez said he was concerned about privacy issues related to the technology, but appreciated the benefits they could provide in identifying perpetrators of violent crime. He said he would not make a “kneejerk” reaction.
“The Commissioners Court decided to institute them, I can’t tell you if we will keep them or not,” Sanchez said.
Plummer said she does not support the Flock contract “as is” and would “rescind it immediately.”
“Although we understand that it’s necessary to assist with public safety issues, we cannot do it against the privacy of our residents,” Plummer said.
Astrodome
The candidates were asked what they would do with the Astrodome, which is owned by the county and has gone largely unused for decades.
Both Plummer and Sanchez said that the Astrodome was not a priority, given the other challenges facing the county. Both candidates said they would support exploring partnerships with private investors for renovations to property but would not use taxpayer money to fund major projects.
Sanchez noted that the Astrodome is designated a historic landmark by the state and would be difficult to demolish.
“Right now, I am supporting imploding the Astrodome,” Plummer said with a laugh. “Just because I do not think that it is serving a value right now and I’m definitely not going to use our taxpayer dollars to renovate it.”