The Harris County Judge race: what the record shows on both candidates

Harris County will choose a new County Judge on November 3. The office runs a multibillion dollar budget, sets the property tax rate, and serves as the county’s chief emergency management official. Both candidates’ records deserve a look.

What the public record shows

Letitia Plummer, the Democratic nominee, has served on Houston City Council as an at-large member since 2020. She is a dentist by profession.

Two things in her record come directly from her own public statements, and neither is in dispute.

She has publicly argued for a tax increase. On October 6, 2024, she posted a statement explaining why she believes the City of Houston needs one. Whatever you make of the argument, it is her position, stated in her own words, and it is relevant to an office that sets the county tax rate.

She listed decarceration among her priorities. That answer appears on her own League of Women Voters candidate questionnaire, a nonpartisan forum where every candidate answers the same questions. Harris County’s jail has been under sustained scrutiny, which makes it a fair subject for voters to weigh.

What has been reported, and how to check it yourself

On August 27, 2026, The Texas Voice, a conservative outlet, published a review of Plummer’s professional and business record. It reports two disciplinary actions by the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners, in 2012 and 2022, and a series of state and federal tax liens against a business she operated.

We are linking that reporting rather than restating it, for a reason worth being upfront about: we have not independently examined the underlying board orders. The article links to documents on the Board’s own server, which is a point in its favor, and we found no outlet disputing it. But we have not read them, and we are not going to assert something we have not verified.

You do not have to take anyone’s word for it. The Texas State Board of Dental Examiners publishes a free public license search, and disciplinary history is part of the record. Look it up yourself. That takes about two minutes and it beats reading anyone’s characterization, including ours.

The other name on the ballot

Orlando Sanchez, the Republican nominee, served as Harris County Treasurer from 2007 to 2018 and previously sat on Houston City Council. He has since run unsuccessfully for Harris County Treasurer in 2018 and for Houston Controller in 2019 and 2023.

We will be applying the same scrutiny to his record. A site that only ever examines one candidate is doing something other than journalism, and readers can tell.