Harris County Should Not Be Used As A Test Lab For Progressive Policies

Houston, we don’t just have a problem, we have a crisis. Under the helm of Judge Lina Hidalgo, the head of the governing body of Harris County, the Democrats on Commissioners Court are quite literally trying to destroy the criminal justice system by effectively creating a revolving-door at the court house and by defunding our law enforcement.

Much like the Biden-Harris Administration, which is experiencing record low approval ratings, Hidalgo has managed to unite Harris County is one grim way: regardless of income, religion or race, every family in Harris County is suffering from an epidemic of violent crime in their neighborhoods.

Source: Harris County Justice Administration Department (JAD) (JAD) JAD)

Let’s be clear, the rise in violent crime is not the result of Hurricane Harvey, COVID, or the economy. It is the direct result of a systematic effort by a small group of outside special interests who have funded Lina since she took office in 2019, which have decided to use the Harris County Criminal Justice System as a laboratory to experiment with their most radical theories under the guise of misdemeanor bail reform. The Houston Chronicle, the Harris County Justice Administration Department (JAD) and Lina want to paint any opposition, whether Republican or Democrat, as outdated philistines seeking mass incarceration for misdemeanor cases equivalent to Jean Valjean stealing a loaf of bread in Victor Hugo’s 1862 classic novel Les Misérables. To be clear, I am not for mass incarceration; however, I am for keeping the most dangerous, violent offenders off our streets and out of our neighborhoods. To understand just how extreme the policies being advocated by Harris County under Hidalgo are, take a look at the now deleted Twitter account of Colin Cepuran, who was sent by Harris County as a representative of JAD to testify before the Texas Senate against SB 21, a bill focused on felony bail reform. Let’s just pause and soak this in:

Harris County sent Colin Cepuran, a person who publicly advocated for the abolition of all prisons, to represent our interests in the Texas Senate to determine appropriate bail reform in the midst of a violent crime epidemic.

While progressives like to play the blame game, the “root cause” to this epidemic is glaringly obvious. Lina’s decisions to defund our law enforcement and to starve the District Attorney for resources are key contributing factors to the skyrocketing homicide rates, but the chief catalyst for the dramatic decline in public safety is the grossly negligent misapplication of misdemeanor bail reform to repeat, violent offenders. The report by the District Attorney concludes:

Bail reform has not been confined to misdemeanors, but has been implemented, in practice, for felony defendants at every level, even repeat violent offenders charged with some of Harris County’s most notorious and deadly crimes, including, but not limited to murders and capital murders.

The chartbelow illustrates the explosive growth of felony criminal defendants reoffending while out on bond.

Source: Harris County District Attorney’s Office

Harris County used to attract national attention as an example of efficient and effective local government. Now, crime attracts national attention and is so out of control that even our Democrat District Attorney, who was funded by billionaire George Soros, is one of the most vocal sources of oppositionto the radical form of criminal justice being implemented by Lina Hidalgo and her cronies. 

It’s time to stand for Harris County and reject these special interest groupsthat are using Harris County as their own personal lab to test progressive theories while our community bears the burden of increased crime.To tackle the epidemic of violent crime, we need to get back to basics and execute simple, effective solutions. Violent crime is heavily concentrated among a small group of persistent offenders with ~5% of offenders committing ~50% of the violent crime.

To effectively deal with this problem at the county level, I willfully fund the criminal justice system by increasing the number of District Attorneys, Sheriff Deputies, and Constable Deputies that are desperately needed to tackle the unprecedented crime epidemic in our community. Lina’s recent capitulation to fund overtime hours for Sherriff Deputies is not even a drop in the bucket, equating to a mere0.04% (rounding up) of the current operating budget of $7.3 billion. As the County Executive, your funding priorities reflect your policy priorities, and it is clear that Lina Hidalgo’s priority is building her own celebrity status instead of ensuring the safety of our neighborhoods.

Alexandra del Moral

Bio-Alexandra del Moral is a wife & mother of two living in the Houston Heights, a West Point graduate and combat veteran (Army bomb squad), a Harvard JD/MBA with a successful career in energy finance, and a proud conservative Hispanic American. Originally from Sacramento, CA, she moved to Houston with her family following her service in the U.S. Army. Like so many from California, she relocated to Houston in search of opportunity and a better quality of life.

Having spent years honing her leadership skills in challenging environments, Alex is confident that she can deliver results under pressure. She has not only disarmed bombs in Afghanistan, but she has also led a large, complex organization of over 600+ personnel as a Company Commander in the U.S. Army. After her service in the U.S. Army, she graduated from Harvard Business School and Harvard Law School before moving to Houston to pursue a career in energy finance, where she worked for the last five years on the execution of billion-dollar transactions as a strategic advisor on mergers & acquisitions and capital markets financings. From her experience in energy finance, Alex is ready to restore fiscal discipline to Harris County by building an efficient and effective budget.

Alexandra is uniquely qualified to hold Judge Lina Hidalgo accountable for her failed policies and will restore Harris County by drastically reducing the size of the bureaucracy and focusing on efficiently delivering core government services. It’s time to stand for Harris County—we cannot sit back and watch our community stumble into one crisis after another.

To learn more about Alexandra del Mora Mealer, please visit her website at alexandramealer.com/

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Alexandra del Moral Mealer

ALEXANDRA DEL MORAL MEALER IS A WIFE & MOTHER OF TWO LIVING IN THE HOUSTON HEIGHTS, A WEST POINT GRADUATE AND COMBAT VETERAN (ARMY BOMB SQUAD), A HARVARD JD/MBA WITH A SUCCESSFUL CAREER IN ENERGY FINANCE, AND A PROUD CONSERVATIVE HISPANIC AMERICAN. ORIGINALLY FROM SACRAMENTO, CA, SHE MOVED TO HOUSTON WITH HER FAMILY FOLLOWING HER SERVICE IN THE U.S. ARMY. LIKE SO MANY FROM CALIFORNIA, SHE RELOCATED TO HOUSTON IN SEARCH OF OPPORTUNITY AND A BETTER QUALITY OF LIFE. HAVING SPENT YEARS HONING HER LEADERSHIP SKILLS IN CHALLENGING ENVIRONMENTS, ALEX IS CONFIDENT THAT SHE CAN DELIVER RESULTS UNDER PRESSURE. SHE HAS NOT ONLY DISARMED BOMBS IN AFGHANISTAN, BUT SHE HAS ALSO LED A LARGE, COMPLEX ORGANIZATION OF OVER 600+ PERSONNEL AS A COMPANY COMMANDER IN THE U.S. ARMY. AFTER HER SERVICE IN THE U.S. ARMY, SHE GRADUATED FROM HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL AND HARVARD LAW SCHOOL BEFORE MOVING TO HOUSTON TO PURSUE A CAREER IN ENERGY FINANCE, WHERE SHE WORKED FOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS ON THE EXECUTION OF BILLION-DOLLAR TRANSACTIONS AS A STRATEGIC ADVISOR ON MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS AND CAPITAL MARKETS FINANCINGS. FROM HER EXPERIENCE IN ENERGY FINANCE, ALEX IS READY TO RESTORE FISCAL DISCIPLINE TO HARRIS COUNTY BY BUILDING AN EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE BUDGET.