Precinct 2 Commissioner Jack Morman is the model of what a County Commissioner should be. For the past eight years, he has gone about his job quietly, effectively and his office has been scandal free. The Houston Chronicle editorial board notes these qualities even as they endorse the antithesis of those qualities. They must have written this one at the end of a long weekend bender.
The biggest difference between the candidates became clear during their joint meeting with the Houston Chronicle editorial board. Garcia presented what he saw as problems with Precinct 2, which largely covers east Harris County and a sliver of near Northside up to Beltway 8. He listed low health insurance coverage, poor educational attainment, dangerous pollution and a litany of other issues that needed addressing.
Morman, on the other hand, seemed to take offense at this description of the precinct and instead insisted it was a great place to live.
County government has limited authority, but we should expect our elected officials to see challenges through clear eyes. If Morman only views his job through the lens of roads, floods and intergovernmental agreements, then that’s all he’ll accomplish.
Jack Morman is entirely correct – Precinct 2 is a great place to live and he has improved it during his time in office. He should be proud. I think that perhaps the Houston Chronicle should require its employees to receive training on what the various elected officials are supposed to do in their jobs. Here’s a link on the duties of a county commissioner:
- Sets the yearly property tax rate and approves the budget and employment level for the county;
- Sets commissioners and justice of the peace precinct boundaries;
- Calls, conducts and certifies elections, including bond elections;
- Sets employment and benefit policy;
- Establishes long-range thoroughfare, open space, land use, financial and law enforcement/jail needs plans;
- Acquires property for rights-of-way or other uses determined to be in the public’s best interest;
- Reviews and approve subdivision platting and wastewater treatment for rural areas;
- Provides rural ambulance services and subsidizes rural fire protection;
- Oversees the construction, maintenance and improvement of county roads and bridges;
- Appoints non-elected department heads and standing committees;
- Supervises and controls the county courthouse, county buildings and facilities;
- Adopts a county budget;
- Determines county tax rates;
- Fills vacancies in elective and appointive positions; and
- Has exclusive authority to authorize contracts in the name of the county.
Jack Morman has excelled at every single one of those duties. But that isn’t what the progressives that make up the Chron editorial board want. They want a social justice warrior to cure their version of what ails society.
Besides a familiar face, Garcia offers something else for a position that has roughly 1 million constituents: He is good at being a politician. He can lead a parade. He cuts a ribbon well. We think he could harness this seat to become a real advocate for the people who live within the precinct.
Garcia would also offer some much-needed support to Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis, a Democrat, who is pushing for structural reforms throughout county government.
Now you know their real mission with this endorsement.
By endorsing Adrian Garcia, the Chronicle takes a show horse over a work horse mentality. During his time as Harris County Sheriff, Garcia was, to put it kindly, incompetent. I wrote in 2011 about his expansion of administrative posts at the expense of deputies on patrol. When Ron Hickman replaced Garcia, he found the following:
- No academy since 2009
- No employee discipline
- No employee training
- Bloated Internal Affairs
- $53,000 yearly contract with the Houston Chronicle to provide 800 newspapers daily
- Garcia used the commissary fund as his personal slush fund
- Misuse of Purchase Order system allowing requests for $40,000 (under the $50,000 limit), then adding another $40,000 later. He called it “under the radar” spending.
Apparently the kids at the Chron “forgot” how scandal plagued the Sheriff’s office was under Garcia, with problems ranging from continual sexual harassment to a 72 year old man that died after being beaten by guards to a man that was locked in a solitary confinement cell so long the Dept of Justice had be called. Even Quannell X called for Garcia to resign. Buy hey, he looks good leading a parade!
And is it a bad thing that Morman has improved relations with every single local government entity? Isn’t the Chron editorial board continually railing on state officials for not working well with county officials? I guarantee you that in Precinct 2, every elected official know that they can call Jack Morman and get cooperation when they need it. Look at the endorsements for each candidate and you’ll see that (note, Morman doesn’t have a list on his website, so I pieced this together – Garcia has a list).
| Adrian Garcia | Jack Morman | |
|---|---|---|
| Houston Chronicle | Pasadena Mayor Jeff Wagner | |
| Planned Parenthood | Baytown Mayor Stephen DonCarlos | |
| Harris County Tejano Democrats | Deer Park Mayor Jerry Mouton | |
| Area 5 Democrats | LaPorte TX Mayor Louis Rigby | |
| Bay Area New Democrats | Morgan’s Point Mayor Michel Bechtel | |
| Houston GLBT Political Caucus | Nassau Bay Mayor Mark Denman | |
| United Steel Workers Local 13-227 | ||
| Baptist Ministers Association of Houston and Vicinity | MASO (Mexican American Sheriff’s Organization | |
| Pantsuit Republic | Houston Police Officers Union | |
| Houston Black American Democrats | Harris County Deputies’ Organization | |
| Texas Organizing Project / TOP | Pasadena Police Officers’ Association | |
| UNITE HERE Local 23 | Fraternal Order of Police | |
| Bay Area Democratic Movement | ||
| Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA) | Harris County AFL-CIO Labor Assembly | |
| Southwest Laborers District Council (SWLDC) | ILA South Atlantic Coast District | |
| LIUNA Local 350 | Plumbers Local 68 | |
| Iron Workers – International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing | ||
| Pipe Fitters Local 211 | ||
| United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Jointers of America | ||
| International Brotherhood of Teamsters | ||
| International Union of Operating Engineers |
Notice the local mayors that support him – he could quadruple this list with council members. Another interesting thing is that NO police group has endorsed the former Sheriff – coincidence? No, they know that he is incompetent. Also interesting are the endorsements from labor unions – when was the last time you saw a Republican get their endorsements? BTW, the three labor groups on Garcia’s list aren’t local and aren’t in the precinct.
So the choice in this race is very, very clear. You can vote for a show horse that is endorsed by liberal newspaper employees, the slaughterers at Planned Parenthood and community organizer groups.
Or, you can vote for Jack Morman, who has proven that he can do the job and do the job well. It’s easy for me.