> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://bayou-city-sludge.ghost.io/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # If you haven't voted in the runoff yet, here's a good reason to vote, Part 1 - URL: https://bayou-city-sludge.ghost.io/if-you-havent-voted-in-the-runoff/ - Published: 2026-05-23T18:23:01.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-07T22:47:35.000Z - Description: The coveted Sara Cress endorsement for Harris County Judge - Author: Sara Cress - Tags: Newsletter, #Migrated-1794091451356, #Import 2026-11-07 22:47 *If you’re reading this you probably know that early voting wrapped up Friday in the runoff races from the March election, because I don’t know why you’d be reading this if you weren’t a total political obsessive like I am. But just in case you didn’t know or haven’t yet voted, I am going to provide you with two good reasons to vote on Tuesday, which is election day.* ![Harris County Accused of Violating Election Law by Allowing P.O. Boxes on Voter Registrations | Elections | The Texan](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6d/51/6d51d957-e70d-452f-8661-3823af319edd/content/images/2026/11/8b11948a-a233-4efd-b4bb-ca964ed11669_750x500-jpeg-1.jpg) #### PART 1: Harris County Judge Much like I wish we could rename the Texas Railroad Commission because its name hides its actual work of regulating the state’s oil and gas agency (very poorly, mind you, and could get worse if [gutter racist Bo French](https://www.texasobserver.org/bo-french-blood-and-oil-railroad-commissioner/?ref=bayou-city-sludge.ghost.io) wins in the Republican runoff next Tuesday), I wish we could rename this office. It isn’t a judge at all, it’s the county’s CEO. It’s the mayor, but for the county. You understand. But it confuses a lot of people. Harris County is recovering from a couple of years of what I can only call chaos and histrionics from our current Judge, Lina Hidalgo. I can’t imagine the mental health toll of winning such an important office so young in a time of rising racism and misogyny, but I suspect it has been difficult to manage. There has been a nonstop parade of bad and/or baffling news coming from that office for a while. I think we’re all relieved that she didn’t try to run again and might be able to take a moment to figure out her life’s direction. *Disclosure: I worked for her office for a hot minute. It didn’t go well. Very disorganized and confusing. And that’s when things were going fairly smoothly from the outside.* So when we look at the runoff in this race, it does make some sense that [the front-runner is former Houston mayor Annise Parker](https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/politics/election-2026/2026/05/14/551750/harris-county-judge-democratic-primary-runoff-election-poll-parker-plummer/?ref=bayou-city-sludge.ghost.io). She has held city offices before, she is steady and reliable. Hell, I was excited to get my picture taken with her at an event many years ago. One of the country’s first LGBTQ mayors! Much in the way that Houston opted to vote for the very know-able and safe-bet John Whitmire for mayor, she is a recognizable mainstay in the city. Not all that controversial aside from her identity. Good at fundraising. Chummy with our city’s many Republican millionaires and billionaires. A centrist. A friend to all. And now we get to the heart of the issue: Whitmire has been a mess of a mayor. He bends to the will of Greg Abbott’s fascism. He fights with and demeans the women on City Council. He greenlights the destruction of traffic calming measures that the city has already implemented and paid for because he’s a cantankerous Car Boomer. He’s here for a short time, not a good time, and that’s putting Houston years behind when we should be learning, changing and adapting for the future. I fear that Annise Parker would be another John Whitmire, and that our city AND county will be held back when we should be thinking ahead. There are a couple of disqualifying things Parker has done in her career and while campaigning for this office that I cannot abide by. - [Banned feeding the homeless as mayor](https://www.houstonpress.com/restaurants/its-now-illegal-to-feed-more-than-five-homeless-people-at-once-on-public-property-6427368/?ref=bayou-city-sludge.ghost.io). This is unforgivable, and a lot of us haven’t forgotten it. - As CEO of the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, [the organization endorsed former Harris County D.A. Kim Ogg](https://victoryfund.org/news/lgbtq-victory-fund-endorses-29-more-candidates-for-2023-and-2024/?ref=bayou-city-sludge.ghost.io) for re-election in 2024\. *Another disclosure here that I worked for Ogg’s Democratic opponent Sean Teare, who is our current Harris County D.A.* Ogg’s office was a mess and wasted a ton of money being vindictive against Hidalgo’s office. She spoke at local Tea Party events. She had a very Republican vision of policing in Harris County. Endorsing her was a baffling move at a time when the political tides were very much turning against Ogg. - [Recently floated the idea that the long-useless Astrodome should become a casino funded by local billionaire Republican Tilman Fertitta](https://www.chron.com/sports/astros/article/astrodome-casino-houston-annise-parker-22264463.php?ref=bayou-city-sludge.ghost.io). And this is the piece of news that made me write this post. I’ve vocally supported Parker’s opponent — former Houston City Council member [Leticia Plummer](https://www.drletitiaplummer.com/?ref=bayou-city-sludge.ghost.io) — a Black woman, a dentist, and endorsed by the Houston Progressive Caucus. But nothing made me as mad as this bit of news, because it is SUCH a “I’m going to be the county’s John Whitmire” look. First off, I actually agree with Republicans that Texas doesn’t need to be another hub for gambling in this country. My god, look at the horrors going on with online sports betting and prediction markets. If you want to gamble, do it on your phone from the toilet or go to Louisiana, I don’t want it here. Even if it were to bring in a tax windfall, our state either clutches its wealth in a fund that can’t be touched OR it uses it to do dumb things like create a $1 billion school voucher program that has, predictably, defunded public schools and largely benefited students who were already in private schools. Secondly, if you’re a Democrat in this day and age, there’s no way in hell you should be dapping up billionaires like they’re actually good at anything other than destroying our country bit by bit. READ THE ROOM, ANNISE. WE’RE NOT PLAYING NICE WITH THEM. I am so tired of this city being hamstrung by the old guard. Electing old people who die in office. Portraying MAGA Mattress Mack as some kind of untouchable folk hero. Ripping out bike lanes because of social media backlash. Tearing down buildings that aren’t useful to the private equity class. Handing ticket after ticket to an organization that is simply trying to feed people who can’t afford food. A once-affordable city has become wildly unaffordable to live in. The rich take all, but mostly because we keep HANDING IT TO THEM. Leticia Plummer has held office, so understands the city. She isn’t an unknown upstart like Hidalgo was. I would welcome her fresh eyes in this role. So if you haven’t voted yet, or didn’t think there was a good reason to, please vote on Tuesday. Part 2 to come!