The 2016 D.A. Debate

So, I just finished watching the Harris County District Attorney candidates debate, and I had a few thoughts.

First off, with the possible exception of the Sheriff's race, this is the most important local race on the ballot in November for Harris County.   For some reason, it aired between 6:30 and 7:30 p.m. and no news network carried it -- not even Channel 2, whose own Khambrel Marshall was the moderator.  It kind of reminded me of the ending of Rocky 3, when Rocky and Apollo had a private fight that only they knew the outcome of.

I had to watch the debate via Kim Ogg's website.  Not that I'm supporting Kim, but she appeared to be the only game in town if you wanted to watch the debate online.  Dave Jennings over at Big Jolly Politics made his long-awaited return to blogging to point out that perhaps Devon didn't exactly want to maximize coverage of the debate.  I'm not sure that I entirely disagree with him.  Given the current news cycle, I actually think that it took a lot of guts to agree to a debate at the moment.

All in all, there were virtually no surprises in the debate, other than the fact that the audience was surprisingly unruly.  Both sides clearly had their supporters who seemed to be trying to outdo each other with their applause.  Disappointingly, some of Ogg's supporters began talking over Devon and yelling out things, which was extremely annoying.

Devon touted her new diversionary programs such as those for cases involving small amounts of marijuana, and prostitution.  Kim attacked systemic problems in the criminal justice system and the need to change.  I missed the closing statements due to a phone call and an overactive two-year-old, but I understand that Devon brought up some character issues with Kim.

As I've said before, Kim is a formidable candidate with some good ideas, but she diminishes them with her pandering and politicking.  Devon called her out on her politicking and she was right to do so.  If Kim would stick to her principles instead of manipulating statistics, it would make her a much more appealing candidate to me.

In the end, I doubt that the debate changed anybody's mind about the candidate they were supporting in the first place -- and I doubt that anybody who was undecided was actually watching it.

Kim Ogg to Run Again

I received an email today from the Kim Ogg for Harris County District Attorney campaign, stating that there would be a campaign announcement tomorrow (September 25th) at 10:00 a.m. across from the CJC.

This is not surprising news, since she pretty much confirmed that she was going to run again immediately after she lost the election for the unexpired term in 2014.

As I stated when she ran last time, Kim is a qualified candidate.  I was disappointed with some of her antics during her 2014 campaign, and I hope there will be more of a discussion of actual issues this time around.

It is worth noting that Kim had a closer margin in her race than most other Harris County Democratic candidates did in 2014.  She is definitely someone that Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson will need to take seriously on the campaign trail.  However, Devon will now be viewed as a solid incumbent with several years under her belt by November of next year.

As usual, my amateur political analysis is that this race will be decided by who the Republican and Democratic candidates for President are.  I don't see Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders or Joe Biden inspiring Democratic voters to flock to the polls like they did for Obama in 2008.  That being said, if Donald Trump ends up as the Republican candidate, I could absolutely see the Latino community being very motivated to get out and vote against him.  I think the Latino voting bloc is the most influential segment of voters in Harris County right now.

As always, the presidential election years are always so much more interesting than the gubernatorial ones.

Kim Ogg announces Candidacy for District Attorney

Former prosecutor, CrimeStoppers head, and attorney Kim Ogg officially announced her candidacy for Harris County District Attorney today in a press conference at the 1910 Courthouse.  She will be running as a Democrat.

As most of you know, since District Attorney Mike Anderson's term was not completed, the election will be in 2014 and the position of District Attorney will be on the ballot again in 2016.  As of this writing, the only other candidate who will be running is Interim District Attorney Devon Anderson.

Although I don't know Kim Ogg very well, I like her.  On the few occasions we've had to talk, I have found her to be very smart and is someone who cares about the Criminal Justice System very much. (NOTE:  yes, I know that I just used the word "very" three times in a row, but I'm very rushed for time at the moment.)  She will make a great candidate for the Dems.  She has already stated her opposition to the filing of trace cases and is developing a platform.

The idea of having two candidates running a clean race against each other where they just debate the issues is something that would be a refreshing change of pace from our D.A. elections of the recent past.

Of course we are early on in the election season and I'm sure both Devon and Kim could draw opponents from within their own parties.  That would be a shame.   Last year's surprise Democratic primary win by Lloyd Oliver was an embarrassment to all involved.

Ultimately, I think next year's race is going to be decided by factors that have nothing to do with the D.A.'s Office, so for the moment, I'm just happy that we have two candidates in the race who actually care about Criminal Justice.