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Harris Co. Judge campaign challengers capitalizing on Hidalgo’s scandals
It’s fair to say it’s been a difficult month for Harris Co. Judge Lina Hidalgo following a botched primary election, and then Texas Rangers raiding her office with search warrants. FOX 26 Political Reporter Greg Groogan has more.
HOUSTON - With Harris County's current leader, Judge Lina Hidalgo, facing scandal after scandal in the span of a month, those seeking to replace her via the ballot box, are making the case for change.
"It's hard to not see that at least somebody is going to jail and clearly the Texas Rangers thought so too," said Alexandra del Moral Mealer, Republican candidate for Harris County Judge.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Harris County Judge grilled following 'bid rigging' allegations
Aside from the COVID-19 communication "bid-rigging" scandal, top Republican vote-getter del Moral Mealer believes residents should reject Judge Hidalgo because the incumbent hasn't delivered fundamental public safety amid an ongoing violent crime wave.
"We seem to always have money for what I call these social priorities when we doubled our public defenders budget, but we just had our Democrat District Attorney begging for $6 million," explained del Moral Mealer. "When you have a budget over $3 billion and you can't find $6 million for law and order when we now lead the nation in homicides, that's not a revenue problem, that's a problem with your priorities."
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Judge Hidalgo confronts allegations of corruption in her inner circle
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo is speaking for the first time about allegations of corruption in relation to an $11 million contract awarded by the county.
"What I'm so scared about is that en-masse, our law enforcement is going to walk out, and I think that is a real possibility if we have another four years of this kind of government," she added.
A combat-tested bomb disposal expert with degrees from West Point and Harvard, del Moral Mealer contends the badly bungled March 1 primary election provided additional proof of what she calls faulty leadership.
"Placing partisan preferences over competency. Our Election Administrator is a great example," she said. "It wasn't just that they picked an appointed official and took it away from an elected official, it's that they chose someone who had never run an election before."
MORE: 10,000 mail-in ballots not added into Harris Co. original election night count
"What was the competency? What was the skill set?" said del Moral Mealer. "It was political connections and that's why we were the only county out of 254 that failed to deliver votes in 24 hours, something that we've done since the 1960's."
Hidalgo contends the bid-rigging allegations are unwarranted, funding is adequate for law enforcement and the election mismanagement issues are correctable.
RELATED: Search warrants served at Harris County offices unsealed
del Moral Mealer is set to square off against fellow Republican Vidal Martinez in the May 24 run-off with the winner advancing to face Hidalgo in the Fall midterm election.