Republican candidates for Harris County Judge talk flooding, jail concerns

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- Orlando Sanchez has been in a runoff before. This time, as he seeks his party's nomination for Harris County Judge, he is speaking about key issues he hopes resonate with voters.

"I've watched this community explode," Sanchez told ABC13. "But not only that, it's Montgomery County, it's Waller County, it's our surrounding counties. And as these counties develop and they pour more concrete, well, where does it flow? It's got to flow through Harris County. So even if we had all the money in the world, Tom, we still need to work cooperatively with our neighbors to the north and to the West. So we can't fix this problem by ourselves."

Sanchez faces Warren Howell in a May 26 runoff election after the two Republican candidates finished first and second, respectively, in a crowded primary.

"I'm running because I've noticed that our Harris County government has diminished and gone downhill every year since I've been here," Howell said. "And it's finally gotten to the point where we have, we have to fix it."

Howell said he has a plan to fix flooding. It'll cost six and a half billion dollars, but the state has the reserves to fund it.

"The state already has it as which states got it," Howell said, "and we've already got the easements, so we don't have to use eminent domain to lay out the pipes and all the things. So, I mean, we can really make Harris County a great place to live, work, own a business, and raise a family."

Also, an issue for both men is the Harris County Jail. Both want to work with the courts, the District Attorney's Office, and the Sheriff to improve the system and stop sending inmates out of state while they await trial. Both also want to shift the approach at the commissioner's court, which currently has a Democrat supermajority.

"I think we've all had enough of traditional politics," Howell said. "It's time to get in there and just go to work and fix it. Get everybody, get everybody together. You know, my agenda doesn't fit just for Republicans. It satisfies everyone."

"So when we work in a bipartisan way, it becomes about us and not about them," Sanchez said. "And I want to bring government back to addressing the issues that affect us as a community. I think once the election is over, we're all in this fight together."

The last day to register to vote for the runoff is a week from today. Early voting starts on May 18. Election Day is May 26. The winner heads to the general election in November against the winner of the Democratic runoff, Letitia Plummer or Annise Parker.

Watch the full interviews on ABC13's political program, This Week in Texas.