Democrats should choose Gonzalez in sheriff ’s primary
You have to wonder what kind of draconian overlord decided to charge inmates at the Harris County jail $10 to clip their fingernails.
The holdover policy grimly illustrates the kind of lockup Sheriff Ed Gonzalez inherited when he was elected in 2016. When a reporter informed Gonzalez about it last week, he promptly tossed it out — a move that illustrates his approach to cleaning up the biggest jail in Texas: swift, smart and compassionate leadership.
Gonzalez, 50, a soft-spoken Houston native, former councilman and 18-year veteran of the Houston Police Department, ran as a reformer and he hasn’t disappointed in his first term. From taking a bold stance in support of bail reform to minimizing the use of solitary confinement to expanding vocational programs to women in the jail, changes big and small have prioritized public safety as well as fairness and the dignity of inmates.
To address the opioid crisis, Gonzalez made the Harris County jail the first in Texas to offer Vivitrol, a drug that helps curb cravings and prevent relapses. In October, the jail began equipping departing inmates grant-funded supplies of the drug naloxone, which can save lives by reversing overdoses.
Certainly, bringing a jail of 8,500 inmates that was under two consent decrees when he took office into full compliance with state standards was no easy task. The sheriff has struggled at times to address vexing problems such as jail suicides, of which there were five in a span of two years. With new protocols in place, however, there has been none in the last year, a trend we hope continues.
Even state Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, who last year criticized Gonzalez after the string of suicides, now credits him with showing bold leadership with such initiatives as “cite and release.” The program seeks to reduce the jail population by treating some misdemeanor charges, such as graffiti and criminal mischief, like court citations for speeding tickets.
Gonzalez’s “cite and release” program seeks to reduce the jail population by treating some misdemeanor charges, such as graffiti and criminal mischief, like court citations.
Gonzalez also didn’t hesitate to take action after a Chronicle investigation into drunken-driving deaths across the Houston area. He formed a regional task force, started showing up at deadly crash scenes and informing citizens via social media about the incidents. Since then, DWI-related fatalities have dropped markedly in unincorporated Harris County, which the sheriff ’s office patrols.
His opponents, Jerome Moore, a lieutenant in the Precinct 5 Constable’s Office who lost to Gonzalez in a previous primary, and decorated retired HPD lieutenant Harry Zamora both have decades of experience and raise important issues on mental health and traffic deaths.
But Gonzalez’s track record and his drive to continue reform have earned our recommendation for sheriff in the Democratic primary.