Republican Candidates in Harris County Judge Race Square Off in Kingwood
1/16/26 – The Kingwood Area Republican Women’s club (KARW) hosted a candidate forum for the Harris County Judge race on 1/15/26 at Raffa’s Waterfront Grill. Approximately 80 people packed the restaurant to listen to six candidates square off against each other on a variety of issues from flooding to public safety, taxes, government efficiency, homelessness, human trafficking and more.
Both the questions and candidates kept returning to flooding, one of the dominant concerns of Lake-Houston-Area residents.
Symbolic Location
The choice of the location was apropos. Raffa’s flooded badly during Harvey and a dozen seniors ages (75 to 95) at Kingwood Village Estates, just a few blocks from the restaurant, died as a result of that flood.
A Strong Field
Republicans have a field of strong candidates this year. The candidates were knowledgeable, articulate and well versed on issues and solutions. Given the current state of Harris County government, that was very encouraging.
Questions Drawn at Random; Notes on Editing
Candidates chose club members’ questions at random from a fish bowl. The Q&A continued for 90 minutes.
Below, I highlight only flood-related comments by each of the candidates. I drew them from comments they made at different points during the 90 minutes – sometimes from their opening or closing remarks. Please understand that each candidate may not have drawn a question about flooding.
At the end of this article, I will link to a full transcript of all questions and all answers during the entire forum.
Candidates’ Thoughts on Flooding
Aliza Dutt
“I’ve allocated budgets in terms of making sure public safety is first and foremost for our constituents. There is nothing more important in our community than making sure our children are raised in safe neighborhoods, and our homes are protected in times of flooding.
“The San Jacinto Watershed Project, which was noted as one of the most dire projects that needed to be done so far, has only received around 13% of that $2.5 billion flood bond. And why is that? Because a Democratic Commissioners Court tricked the taxpayers.
“Their definition of risk isn’t about those who died in that senior center right down the street. Lives were lost. But instead, projects were allocated to people because of economic disparity versus those who died and those who need help the most.
“Kingwood is one flood away from extinction and we have to put a stop to flooding.
“Where were the politicians when [money from] that $2.5 billion flood bond never made it to your neighborhood?
“It is incumbent on conservative leadership to never compromise the value of human life.
“No more politicians who show up at your women’s groups and at the polls a few weeks before Election Day, making empty promises. Flood mitigation has not seen the light of day.”
Oscar Gonzales
[Editor’s note: Gonzales drew no questions on flood mitigation. His comments focused on law enforcement, bail bond reform, homelessness and government corruption. He did not use opening or closing remarks to address flooding.]
Warren Howell
[Editor’s note: Warren Howell also drew no questions on flooding. He spoke primarily on government budgets, salaries, deficits and efficiency. He mentioned flood control only in his concluding remarks.]
“The key to everything you want, your flood control? Everything. Everything. Public safety. It is dependent on creating a new government that operates in the correct manner and costs you the right amount of money.
“We need to double our flood control. And I know how to do it. We have to double it not just for four years, but for generations to come.”
Marty Lancton
“We are going to take a top down approach. And the Harris County Flood Control District is at the top of my priority list to [force a] focus on the areas that need flood help the most.
“I’ve spent years trying to help out the Kingwood area and get flood-mitigation dollars. And when you have people like Commissioner Rodney Ellis, who uses the word equity, to take dollars away from Kingwood and not put [mitigation] projects in the ground…that’s a problem.
“And when GLO Commissioner Buckingham came in, she appointed me to her transition team. And the number one priority, I said, is we have got to get resources to Kingwood and to Harris County within 90 days. Doctor Dawn Buckingham and the GLO brought $800 million to Harris County so that we could address these problems.
“And yet now we sit here today. Because of the Harris County Flood Control District, because of Commissioner Rodney Ellis and the leadership in the county courts, those funds are now at risk of not being utilized because they cannot get their proverbial (stuff) together. That is unacceptable. It does not help the Kingwood residents. And it does not help the citizens of Harris County. That will change on day one under my administration.”
[Responding to the question, “What is your stance on floodplain developments and what do you see as the developer’s responsibility in local flood prevention?]
“Well, first part of that is you don’t build in a floodplain. You don’t build in an area that is going to flood. That’s exactly why we got into this mess in the first place.
“You have to have people working together…And I’ll tell you, as a very practical matter, being in the state legislature every two years advocating not only for Harris County and for firefighters, I have heard this so many times. Nobody wants to work with the leadership at Harris County, probably rightfully so, because they think that the money is going to go to where it shouldn’t go.
“This job as county judge takes relationships that have been formed for a very long time. You have to be able to get people into the room that have not sat in a room.
“Harris County and the City of Houston are on two different pages because the Harris County judge gets in fights with the City of Houston mayor on national television during a disaster.
“Everybody sits there and talks about the challenges that we know we’ve had, yet nobody is in a room actually being honest and addressing this. That will change under my administration.”
[Responding to the question, “Kingwood does not have a designated emergency center for mass evacuations and central supply drop. Would you pledge to ensure a site is selected that would have backup generator power for the citizens out here?]
“Absolutely, yes, 100% without question.
“I’ll tell you as somebody that understands the lack of resources that have been given to Kingwood over the years. Everybody says they’re going to come in. We have elected officials that have fought and gotten money. And then what happens? Harris County doesn’t do what it needed to do to get projects going.
“This is where relationships matter. This is where trust matters. I am proud to be endorsed by our governor, Greg Abbott. I’m proud to be endorsed by our Texas Land Commissioner, Doctor Dawn Buckingham, by Speaker of the House Dustin Burrows, and by so many Republican elected officials, including your state representative.
“Fixing these problems starts with having relationships and understanding how we get the resources to the people that need them the most. Nobody will be able to convince me that anybody got it worse than Kingwood. Not when you lost 15 lives.
“The only thing that I focus on when I lead is being effective. Words are cheap. Actions are what matters. That is what we are going to do, and we are going to make sure Kingwood gets the resources it needs. And we’re going to work with regional, state and federal partners to make sure this happens.
“When you have the Harris County flood Control district that doesn’t do what it’s supposed to do and doesn’t get the money to Kingwood, that will change under my administration.
“But more importantly, we’re not going to continue to have more studies to have more studies. We know that the Kingwood area residents need the flood control. They need shovels in the ground.
“And that’s why you need someone who has relationships with the Texas Land Commissioner, the Governor, and Mayor of the largest city in the county. We will help ensure that that money gets where it needs to go. And that is Kingwood.”
Orlando Sanchez
“We’ve got to end that socialist approach to flood control and do what engineers and hydrologists believe is the most important. Those solutions will focus on this area, the San Jacinto River, dredging our lake and making sure that Kingwood is well protected.
“We ought to have a Public Integrity Unit and a Citizen Commission Review to review the expenditures of our public money by corrupt commissioners.”
[Responding to “If you’re elected, what would you do to speed up flood mitigation, so that people don’t have to live with high flood risk any longer than necessary?]
“We’ve got to make sure that we get:
- The Kingwood Diversion Channel and Taylor Gully addressed.
- Maintenance on the channels, especially Bens Branch.
- Participate in the dredging and maintenance district that overlooks all of the drainage and the dredging of the lake here in the Kingwood area.
- Work to maintain relationships with Montgomery County and San Jacinto County to make sure that our partners and road builders aren’t creating more damage for the Kingwood area.
- Resurrect the San Jacinto River Watershed Master plan that has been shelved.
- Reinforce flood-control-district projects within the county.
“And as I said earlier, we’ve got to stop all these socialist programs and addressing flood control based on race, ethnicity and socioeconomic status and making sure that projects are addressed based on what hydrologists and engineers feel is the most important project. And this area has for too long been ignored by the Flood Control District. So, those are the changes that need to be made.”
George Zoes
[Editor’s note: Zoes drew no questions on flood mitigation either. His comments focused primarily on streamlining government, but within that topic he mentioned flood control.]
“It seems like the county and the city will spend millions and millions of dollars on engineering diagrams that take years to complete, and by the time they complete it, things have changed. So you have to go back and do it again.
“Politicians take years to do things. And we as voters continue to sit there and support them with this and keep putting them back in office. It’s time to fire these people and put someone in that runs a business.
“We keep hearing about flooding for the past 10, 15, 20 years. It’s not fixed. We’re still waiting. County, City, everyone still broke…out of the budget. Wait till next November.”
Rehak’s Impressions
KARW by-laws prohibit the club itself from endorsing any candidates before a primary.
Having closely reviewed the transcript of yesterday’s forum – and looking at candidates’ responses through the lens of flood-risk reduction – I feel Dutt, Lancton and Sanchez all exhibited sensitivity to Lake Houston Area flooding concerns. And two presented credible plans to reduce flood risk.
Between Dutt, Lancton and Sanchez:
- Dutt recognized the importance of flood mitigation to the Kingwood Area. However, she did not present many specifics for mitigation.
- Lancton recognized the importance of mitigation, understood specifics of the area’s flooding problem, and had a plan to mitigate them. That plan will take money. And he has endorsers who can help bring money to bear on our area, including Governor Abbott and GLO Commissioner Dawn Buckingham.
- Sanchez recognized the importance of flood mitigation. He also showed a thorough understanding of local priorities and flooding hot spots. Plus, he has the most experience as an elected official. And he specifically addressed a top priority – returning responsibility for flood mitigation decisions to hydrologists and engineers. My one concern about Sanchez is that he often used divisive language. While that may energize parts of the political base, it can also alienate people he may have to work with in the future.
To see each candidate’s answers on other topics, read the entire 13,000 word transcript for yourself.
I had an AI service prepare the transcript; it claimed 99% accuracy. But crowd noise obscured some words. So, please forgive any errors.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/16/26
3052 Days since Hurricane Harvey
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.
