Former judge to challenge Ellis
Former Harris County state district judge Maria T. Jackson will challenge incumbent Rodney Ellis for Harris County Precinct 1 commissioner, her campaign announced Monday.
Jackson, the county’s longest serving felony judge until her resignation last month, plans to hold a campaign kickoff Tuesday. She said she was unavailable for comment Monday.
Jackson, a Democrat, served as judge of the 339th State District Court in Harris County from 2009 to her Sept. 30 resignation from the bench. She previously was a Houston municipal court judge. She unsuccessfully ran for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in 2018.
Jackson earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas and graduated from the Texas A&M School of Law.
She faces a well-funded opponent in Ellis in the March Democratic primary. Ellis, a former state senator, first was elected Precinct 1 commissioner in 2016.
On his most recent campaign finance report filing in July, Ellis listed a war chest of $3.8 million,
more than any other elected official in Harris County. Jackson listed $13,812 in cash on hand for her judge campaign account, which she can transfer to her campaign for commissioner.
University of Houston political science Professor Brandon Rottinghaus said the fundraising deficit is one of several significant challenges Jackson would have to overcome to have a chance of victory. Rottinghaus said Ellis is widely known to the public and popular among Democratic voters. He also said judges often struggle to transition to legislative or executive elected positions.
“Judges tend not to be visible, politically,” Rottinghaus said. “They aren’t used to talking about core political issues and using that to
build coalitions.”
Matt Angle, director of Lone Star Project, a political action committee and research firm aimed at electing more Democrats in Texas, said he was dismayed Jackson resigned from the bench because Republican Gov. Greg Abbott gets to appoint a replacement. He also suggested Republicans in Harris County had urged Jackson to run against Ellis.
Precinct 1 resident Michael Yarbrough said he has known Jackson his whole life and plans to support her. Yarbrough said Jackson had a reputation as a fair judge and would work harder than Ellis to help county residents, especially senior citizens,
recover from Hurricane Harvey and Tropical Storm Imelda.
“I think Judge Jackson would come in and immediately work for solutions,” he said.
Yarbrough, a former Houston city councilman, was indicted in 1997 on bribery charges in connection with an FBI sting operation. After two trials ended in hung juries, prosecutors dismissed the charges against him and two others in 1999.
Ellis, asked about Jackson’s bid, said in a statement he will focus on his own campaign.
“I have focused on creating economic opportunity for working families, increasing equitable flood protection and recovery resources for all communities, expanding access to affordable and quality healthcare, and advancing criminal justice reforms that uphold our rights and protect our communities,” Ellis said. “I will run my campaign on those issues.”
He also released a re-election campaign internet ad.
Of the four county commissioner precincts, Precinct 1 has the highest proportion of Democratic voters. The winner of the Democratic primary is likely to prevail on Election Day in November.