Joe Danna, a lifetime Houstonian and a Master Peace Officer who has worked in every division of the Constable’s Office, is getting closer to his bid for the new Harris County Sheriff position. This past Tuesday, current sheriff Ed Gonzalez was renominated for the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director position, which will leave the Sheriff role open.
Biden initially nominated Gonzalez back in April 2021, and Gonzalez was approved by a Senate committee in August. The next step of the process would have been a floor vote, which needed to take place by the end of 2021. If that deadline is missed, the process must start over again.
That’s exactly what happened, as Republicans, in particular, argued against Gonzalez’s appointment. Divisiveness on the floor has prevented several nominees from moving forward; in fact, ICE has not had a permanent director for five years as the parties cannot come to agreement. Republicans argue that Gonzalez has not cooperated with ICE in the past and so is a poor choice for Director.
Once Gonzalez’s nomination receives final approval or he officially steps down from his current position, the Executive Committees for the Republican and Democratic Parties will nominate a candidate to run in the Sheriff’s race this November 2022, with no primary race.
Harris County Republican Party Chair Cindy Seigel has advised she will call an emergency meeting of the Executive Committee, which is made up of the 600 Precinct Chairs, to nominate and approve their candidate. Danna feels confident the outcome will favor his campaign.
“We have the support of both Republican Commissioners Cagle and Ramsey, many 2022 judicial candidates and many of the 600 Precinct Chairs that will confirm our campaign,” said Danna.
Danna is eagerly awaiting this confirmation, as he has plans to improve funding, spending, and the efficiency and respect within the Harris County police system.
At the top of Danna’s action plan as Sheriff is to bring appreciation and transparency to the office, saying, “These are prerequisites to any program that will effectively reduce crime.”
He references the Harris County Safe Program, recently approved by The Commissioners Court. The program will provide $2.6 million to put close to 100 extra deputies on the street each day. While this sounds good on the surface, Danna describes it as “a perfect example of throwing good money into an ineffective program to curb crime. These Deputies will work a double shift, and that alone is not effective policing. If you place a Sheriff Deputy in every household and you don’t show them a true appreciation for their service, you’re wasting their time and our money.”
Danna stated, “We must first bring back respect amongst the 5000 employees of the Sheriff’s Office in order to earn the respect from the community, and this starts at the top with the Sheriff.
“I, along with thousands of our supporters await the outcome of the current Sheriff’s approval to move on to a federal position. We are confidently moving forward with our campaign with our sights on a WIN in November 2022.”
To learn more about Danna’s credentials and run for Sheriff of Harris County, visit his website at www.dannaforsheriff.com/.
