Sean Teare officially begins new job as Harris County District Attorney

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- It's a new year, and Harris County has a new district attorney. Sean Teare took the oath of office at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday.

He defeated his former boss, Kim Ogg, in the Democratic primary, won the seat in November, and officially started the job on Jan. 1, 2025.

"I know the layout of the building, so finding the office and getting those kinds of things has been routine," Teare said. "I don't think I was prepared for the flood of emotions walking back in the building, seeing my name on the door."

Teare said the job begins immediately. He wants to revamp the way the office takes in criminal cases and works them through the justice system.

"Priority number one is to start rebuilding the office, fixing it from the ground floor, and metaphorically and physically, that's our intake division," Teare told ABC13. "We decide and determine which charges we're going to accept and we make them stronger from the beginning so that shortens the length of stay for each individual in the county jail. "We have to start being better today in how we accept charges and how we interact with law enforcement."

Teare says he expects to lower the jail population in three months and to do it within the financial constraints of a tight county budget.

"If you're not capable of doing the work with what you have, then you're in the wrong job," he said. "There's no one that I have ever met in law enforcement that feels like they're fully funded. The citizens of this community are going to be proud of this institution again."

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