Election Season: Fort Bend County collaborates with Emgage and Baker Ripley for candidate forum

By Shaneece Flax

Community members and candidates for office amassed on Saturday, Oct. 12 at the University of Houston in Sugar Land for the Fort Bend Candidate Forum hosted by Emgage and Baker Ripley, and a host of partner organizations, to participate in a non- partisan discussion before the election season.

Candidates ranged from the County commissioner, District Court judges, and The County Sheriff, to Legislative and House of Representative seats. Incumbents were defending their seats from new candidates in this forum while all candidates answered questions from the public.

Judge Tameika Carter, 400District Court Incumbent, explained to the audience how she presides over criminal trials and complex civil trials and that she now presides over a new court system called Court C which is a diversion court that helps individuals to not re-offend.

“I grew up knowing that there were two court systems,” Carter said. “One for the haves and the have nots, and I would like to make sure that every person that came into my courtroom was treated fairly regardless of race or their socioeconomic background.”

Carter explained that there is no official back log within her court, and that she works through her backlog by doing the work and offering virtual court appearances for individuals.

Ed Kranek, candidate for the 400 District Court, argued that in general there is a back log in civil cases, and there is a duty to get that back log contained for the people of Fort Bend County.

“We have a back log on our civil side. The civil cases are not moving as fast as they should,” Kranek said. “They’re not moving in a way that protects everyone out here that has precious and a finite amount of judicial resources.”

Kranek also explained that before elections judges have a routine to bring their numbers off the docket which he coined “De-whopping” cases. This is the process in which judges could dismiss cases with very little oversight, and no accountability before the new election season.

Eric Fagen, Incumbent Sherriff, explained the duty of officers to help individuals that are experiencing any kind of mental health, and how the department has made it a priority to help those that are suffering.

“Now, as sheriff, I’ve made it a priority to ensure that my deputies are trained to handle mental health crises, “Fagen said. “We’ve expanded our Crisis Intervention Team (CIT), which now operates 24 hours a day because mental health issues don’t stop when the sun goes down.”

Fort Bend County Sheriff Eric Fagan

The audience asked Sheriff Fagen about the human trafficking problem regarding labor in Fort Bend County and he answered with statistics.

“In Fort Bend County, we’ve arrested over 100 human traffickers and rescued more than 30 victims,” Fagen said. “Many of these victims were exploited workers who didn’t know their rights.”

Marshal Slot, candidate for Fort Bend County Sheriff, has a family legacy of law enforcement and explained how he would transform how the department handles cases within the community, and how he feels there aren’t enough patrol vehicles for Fort Bend County.

“There are only 9 deputies patrolling all of Fort Bend County at any given time,” said Slot. “For those who are not familiar, Fort Bend County covers 875 square miles. That is just not enough deputies to effectively police such a large area.”

A community member asked Slot how he plans to address the petty crimes in the area, especially in the areas of Sugarland and Arcola.

“As sheriff, I would increase the number of deputies on patrol and make sure that they are visible in the community,” Slot said. “We need to make sure that when residents look out their windows, they see law enforcement present. But it is not just about adding more deputies. We also need to be smarter about how we deploy them.”

Kathy Cheng, opponent for Senate District 17, explained the importance of starting from the top of the ballot to the bottom, and voting for the local seats because that is what protects voters. Joan Huffman is the incumbent, and she was not present for comment at this forum.

“Yes, we need to have a President,” Cheng said, “But the reality is that what will touch every voter here is the local races. The courthouses, the commissioners. All of these are important ones. So do not stop until you are at the last one.”

Patrick Quincy, candidate for Constable Precinct 4, talked about his childhood and his disdain for law enforcement at an early age in Louisiana, and how we would make sure that his deputies were mentally stable to wear the uniform.

Community members asked him what were one or two things that would be different with him if he were elected to office.

“When you give someone a gun a badge and you asked them to go out and keep that community safe, you have to make sure you’re putting the right people out there,” Quincy said. “Day one we have to evaluate every single deputy at that agency, and make sure were not putting people out there that aren’t mentally capable to be there.”

Precinct 4 Constable incumbent, Mike Beard, was not in attendance at this community forum for public comment.

Shad Bogany, the City Council candidate, is a realtor in Fort Bend County and he believes that his background in business will be a positive factor in electing him for City Council of Fort Bend County.

Bogany also emphasized the need for Missouri City to be included at the table when it comes to Fort Bend County politics.

“Missouri City has been treated like the stepchild of Fort Bend County for too long,” Bogany Said.” I have spent my career building communities, and I want to bring that experience to Missouri City to help grow and thrive.” Election season is here, and the deadline to register to vote has passed so now it is up to these community forums to reach dedicated and registered voters to cast their ballots for these positions on Nov 5.