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Municipal elections in Harris County, Texas (2016)
2017 →
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| 2016 Harris County elections |
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| Election dates |
| Filing deadline: December 14, 2015 |
| Primary election: March 1, 2016 Primary runoff: May 24, 2016 General election: November 8, 2016 |
| Election stats |
| Offices up: County commission, justices of the peace, constables, district attorney, county attorney, sheriff, county tax assessor-collector, and special districts |
| Other municipal elections |
| U.S. municipal elections, 2016 |
The race between incumbent District Attorney Devon Anderson (R) and challenger Kim Ogg (D) was a rematch from 2014, when Anderson narrowly retained her seat. With Anderson having to answer for two incidents that have received negative media attention in the past year, and a presidential campaign that "could cause a big shake up down the ballot," according to local Houston media group KHOU.com, Ogg was leading Anderson by seven points in a poll conducted in October.[1] According to the same poll, the sheriff's contest would also be a close race. Incumbent Ron Hickman (R) was up by one point over Ed Gonzalez (D), with 25 percent of respondents still undecided.[2]
A primary election was held on March 1, 2016, and primary runoffs were held on May 24, 2016. The filing deadline for those wishing to run in this election was December 14, 2015.[3]
Elections
County positions
Commissioners court
District 1 |
District 3☑ Steve Radack Defeated in primary
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Other elected officials
District attorney☐ Devon Anderson Defeated in primaryCounty attorney☑ Vince Ryan Defeated in primary |
County sheriff☐ Ron Hickman Defeated in primary
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County tax assessor-collector☐ Mike Sullivan Defeated in primary |
Justices of the peace & constables
Precinct 1Justice of the peace☑ Eric Carter Defeated in primary
Constable☑ Alan Rosen Defeated in primaryPrecinct 2Justice of the peace☑ Jo Ann Delgado Constable☑ Christopher Diaz Defeated in primary
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Precinct 3Justice of the peaceDefeated in primaryConstableDefeated in primary
Precinct 4Justice of the peace☑ Lincoln Goodwin Defeated in primaryConstable☑ Mark Herman Defeated in primaryPrecinct 5Justice of the peace☑ Russ Ridgway Constable☑ Ted Heap Defeated in primary
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Precinct 6Justice of the peace☑ Richard Vara Defeated in primaryConstable☑ Silvia Trevino Defeated in primaryPrecinct 7Justice of the peace☑ Hilary H. Green Defeated in primary
Constable☑ May Walker Defeated in primaryPrecinct 8Justice of the peace☑ Holly Williamson Constable☑ Phil Sandlin |
Special districts
Harris County Department of Education
Precinct 2☐ Sherrie Matula Defeated in primary
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Precinct 4Defeated in primary |
Ballot measures
• Proposition 1: Houston Beer and Wine Measure 
| A yes vote was a vote in favor of lifting the ban on the sale of beer and wine for off-premise consumption in the area formerly known as the City of Houston Heights. |
| A no vote was a vote against lifting the ban on the sale of beer and wine for off-premise consumption in the area formerly known as the City of Houston Heights. |
• Proposition 1: Houston ISD Attendance Credits 
| A yes vote was a vote in favor of allowing the school district to pay $162 million to purchase attendance credits in order to avoid recapture. |
| A no vote was a vote against allowing the school district to pay $162 million to purchase attendance credits. The Texas Education Authority must instead get that money through commercial property detachment. |
Issues
District attorney race
Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson (R) faced Kim Ogg (D) on November 8, 2016. Anderson was appointed to the position by former Governor Rick Perry (R) in September 2013. Ogg and Anderson faced off for the first time in 2014, and Anderson narrowly retained her seat, winning 51.6 percent of the vote.[4] A University of Houston poll in September indicated that their 2016 rematch would be just as close. Among likely voters, 29 percent of respondents favored Ogg, compared to Anderson's 27 percent. Among extremely likely voters, 30 percent favored Anderson, while 29 percent favored Ogg. Over 40 percent of respondents in both categories were still unsure who they would vote for.[5] The University of Houston released another poll in October which showed Ogg leading Anderson by seven points among certain and very likely voters. In the later poll, the percentage of undecided voters and those that refused to answer decreased from 42.5 percent to 27 percent.[2] The table below shows the details of the two polls.
| 2016 Harris County District Attorney Election | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Poll | Devon Anderson | Kim Ogg | Don't know/Refused | Margin of error | Sample size | ||||||||||||||
| University of Houston (September 1-20) | 28.5% | 29% | 42.5% | +/-4 | 550 | ||||||||||||||
| University of Houston (October 7-15, 2016) | 33% | 40% | 27% | +/-4.5 | 400 | ||||||||||||||
| AVERAGES | 30.75% | 34.5% | 34.75% | +/-4.25 | 475 | ||||||||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org. | |||||||||||||||||||
Ogg has frequently pointed to two incidents that occurred over the past year in order to convince voters that she would be a better choice than Anderson. In one, a mentally ill rape victim was jailed over the holidays to make sure that she would testify in the case against her attacker. "Revictimizing a victim never justifies the end," Ogg said during a debate. She said that there were other ways prosecutors could have handled the situation. Anderson said she regretted what happened but stood by her prosecutors. "If there is any silver lining to any of this, and there is just one, it's that this monster, this serial rapist, received two life sentences thanks to her courageous testimony," she said. She added that the incident sparked new training in the office.[6]
Another scandal Anderson had to face was the destruction of evidence at the Harris County Precinct 4 constable's office. Deputy Chris Hess was fired from the office after allegedly throwing away evidence while cleaning a property room. Over 21,000 pieces of evidence were lost.[7] Ogg faulted Anderson for failing to notify defense attorneys that had pending cases about the destroyed evidence. Anderson defended herself, saying that they let people know as soon as they could. "We didn't know who to notify, whose cases to dismiss," she said.[6]
About the county
- See also: Harris County, Texas
The county government of Harris County is located in Houston, Texas. The county was first established in 1836. It covers a total of 1,703 square miles of land on the upper Gulf Coast in the southeastern part of Texas.[8]
County government
- See also: Government of Harris County, Texas
Harris County is overseen by a five-member commissioners court. Four commissioners are elected by district to four-year terms. The head of commissioners court, the county judge, is elected county-wide. Residents also elect a county attorney, district attorney, county clerk, district clerk, county sheriff, county tax assessor-collector, county treasurer, eight constables, and 16 justices of the peace.
Demographics
The following table displays demographic data provided by the United States Census Bureau.
| Demographic Data for Harris County, Texas | ||
|---|---|---|
| Harris County | Texas | |
| Population | 4,092,459 | 25,145,561 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 1,707 | 261,266 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White | 62.5% | 74% |
| Black/African American | 19% | 12.1% |
| Asian | 7% | 4.8% |
| Native American | 0.4% | 0.5% |
| Pacific Islander | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| Other (single race) | 8.5% | 5.8% |
| Multiple | 2.4% | 2.7% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 42.9% | 39.3% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate | 81.4% | 83.7% |
| College graduation rate | 31.5% | 29.9% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income | $61,705 | $61,874 |
| Persons below poverty level | 15.7% | 14.7% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2010). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2014-2019). | ||
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Harris County Texas election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Harris County, Texas | Texas | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ KHOU.com, "UH poll: Presidential election impacting local races," October 20, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 University of Houston, "Harris County 2016 Election Survey," accessed October 24, 2016
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "Important 2016 Election Dates," accessed September 1, 2016
- ↑ Harris County Clerk, "2014 General Election Results," November 14, 2014
- ↑ University of Houston, "Harris County Election 2016 data," accessed October 18, 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Chron, "Debate brings fireworks in Harris DA race," September 27, 2016
- ↑ KHOU.com, "DA: More than 21,000 pieces of evidence lost by Precinct 4," September 2, 2016
- ↑ Texas State Historical Association, "Harris County," accessed August 31, 2016
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