Harris County judge candidates pledge $1 million for TMO 'community lighthouses' and $500,000 for Capital IDEA Houston

Democratic and Republican candidates for Harris County judge pledged Sunday to raise $1 million for at least three new emergency hubs, pursue future flood-control bonds and fully fund Harris Health during a forum hosted by The Metropolitan Organization at Congregation Beth Israel in Houston.

Former Houston City Council member Letitia Plummer, the Democratic nominee, and former Harris County Treasurer Orlando Sanchez, the Republican nominee, appeared alongside the four main candidates for Harris County Commissioners Court. Representatives from churches and synagogues asked the questions, under forum rules that barred candidates from using their time to campaign or attack opponents.

Both candidates committed to The Metropolitan Organization’s effort to create “community lighthouses,” sites meant to provide electricity, heating or cooling, food and medical support during power failures. Plummer and Sanchez pledged to support raising $1 million in combined public and private money to build at least three of them.

Plummer said she helped secure resources to install the first generator at Kashmere Gardens Multipurpose Center during her time on Houston City Council. She called resilience her “primary priority” and tied it to drainage, flood protection and disaster preparation.

Sanchez pointed to his record of directing leftover council budget money to the Houston Fire Department for external defibrillators. He said many residents cannot buy private generators, making shared power sources in neighborhoods across Houston necessary.

The candidates also agreed on the need for more flood-control spending after the $2.5 billion approved by voters in the 2018 bond election is used up. Both said they would seek future bond elections for county flood control needs.

Sanchez described flooding as a regional problem that now requires cooperation with surrounding counties and help from the federal government. He said Houston did not face the same flooding challenges when he arrived in 1961 as an immigrant, but development in nearby counties has changed the situation.

Plummer said she was first elected to City Council just after Hurricane Harvey and worked with residents to use Texas General Land Office programs to rebuild homes. She promised to finish using the existing bond money while giving communities clearer explanations of why federal and state funding can come with slower requirements.

On health care, both candidates pledged support for full funding of Harris Health, the county’s public hospital system, to expand preventive, primary, emergency and hospital care for residents.

Plummer, a dentist, said she opened Strawberry Dental Center and Gulfgate Dental Center early in her career and treated patients who relied on Harris Health. She said the system is a safety net because Gov. Greg Abbott has not expanded Medicaid, leaving more uninsured residents dependent on county care.

Sanchez cited his work to increase the number of level-one trauma centers in Harris County. He said the county, the third-largest in the United States, has only two level-one trauma centers and that they are on “drive-by status” about 30% of the time, meaning they are at capacity. He also pointed to nearly 75% voter approval for past work tied to Harris Health.

The forum closed with both county judge candidates pledging $500,000 in public and private funding for Capital IDEA Houston, The Metropolitan Organization’s workforce development program for low-income workers seeking higher-paying careers.