Dr. Letitia Plummer on Leadership, Public Health, and the Future of Harris County
March 23, 2026
Transcript
Letitia Plummer (candidate):
[Excerpt from Council Member Plummer's testimony]: Historically, freeway expansions have had a significant negative impact on urban areas, including the destruction in established communities and loss of valuable green spaces. White Oak is called White Oak Park. It is called a park. It acts like a park. It looks like a park. We treat it as a park, but the city of Houston has not designated as one. And so I'm joining the tag with with with Council Member Castillo and obviously will not be uh you know supporting this item, but it's something that we need to look at as a city. Thank you.
Black Girls Politickin (host):
This is Black Girls Politickin, and I am so excited to finally have you on. This is super duper exciting, and honestly I think this is the best time to have you on. For the audience who does not know, we have been in a little bit of a back and forth just because of schedules and conflicts and traffic and just all of the things that come with doing this work and living in Houston, but tonight, we are joined by Dr. Leticia Plummer, who is currently vying for the seat of Harris County Judge. And now, as we speak, at present, you are officially in the runoff. For those who may not be familiar with you, this race and your previous work, can you tell us a little bit about that and why county judge?
Letitia Plummer (candidate):
Yes, absolutely. So, first of all, I am so excited. I know we have gone back and forth trying to get this thing done, but you're right. I think this is the most opportune time to pull this thing off, and so I'm super excited. So, first of all, I have to say no one thought we would do it. We have to get that out there. I love I love being the underdog. I love being unexpected. And this win has really been amazing. Everyone just thought that Annise Parker would take this thing full-on the night of, and we kept her under that 50.1% threshold the entire time. So, super excited. I am from Houston. I am born in Boston. My dad actually went to Harvard for dental school. So, I was actually born in Boston, but only there for a little bit. My mom is actually Yemeni and Persian. She was actually born in Zanzibar. We visited Mombasa I think my entire childhood and probably middle school and up. Grandmother's an educator. My grandfather was actually a civil rights attorney. He had actually desegregated the Harris County cafeteria. Tuskegee Airman instructor, like really cool guy. He represented Muhammad Ali when he was about to go to war and he's Muslim. Muhammad Ali was Muslim at the time and really fought to ensure that he didn't have to go and do that because of the of the religion piece of it. And so mom of three boys; I own my own dental practice and got in politics with a tragedy honestly that happened to me in 2018. I lost custody of my son in a in a surrogacy battle and I wanted to make sure that no one else experienced that. So ran for Congress in 2018. Lost short, but that's when I got bit by the bug. That's when I realized the politics is something that I want to be a part of. I realized how easy it was honestly to actually change how people can actually live and so ran for city council uh when Amanda Edwards decided to run for Senate. So that's my quick story of kind of who I am and how I got here. Just loved being on city council. I was an at-large member. So I was I was able to really focus on more policy-driven things versus speed bumps and potholes and that, and really did some good work on city council when it came to just quality of life stuff. So environmental challenges in Fifth Ward, the cancer cluster, right? Putting a generator at um Kashmere Gardens for resiliency, looking at air quality challenges in black and brown communities, and putting more monitors out there so we could see what we were breathing and why we led in asthma. Looking at mental health challenges with our MCOT and crisis team. So, you know, all of that prepared me for one day waking up and hearing that Lina Hidalgo was not going to run for for reelection. Thought it was done, Michaela. I really thought it was done and then I heard Annise Parker was the only Democrat running in the race, and I sat back and I was like, "Oh, hell no. There's there's no way. There's no way. There's no way that we're going to let her have this." And so I resigned from my city council race. I was term-limited anyway. I only had about a year and a half left of my seat. I resigned from that seat and now got my hat in county judge race and we're in a runoff, baby.
Black Girls Politickin (host):
Yes, we are. And you are technically considered the underdog. A lot of people had a lot of comments, and I'm really glad to see because you did speak to this on your own social media platforms. So, I'm really glad to hear that. But for individuals who do not understand the storied history of your opponent, right? Why are you the best fit? CCounty judge oversees a multibillion dollar budget. It oversees 4+ million people. Why should people go into that ballot box and check your name over your opponents?
Letitia Plummer (candidate):
Honestly, because I genuinely care about people. I've proven that at city council. My opponent has made some very, very wrong decisions in a multitude of ways, and she just is now kind of flip-flopping back and forth based on what her positions are. And just to kind of create some distinction between the two of us, right? She supported the HISD takeover and the HISD bond. I'm a child- I'm a a product of the educational system of the HISD system. There's no way I would be sitting in front of you today as a dentist, graduate from Spellman, right? Small business owner, previous council member, and now, you know, candidate for Harris County judge. She supported Kim Ogg. Kim Ogg has destroyed our um our criminal justice system. What we're seeing at the Harris County Jail is a real problem. I've always been focused on criminal justice issues and that piece of it. You know, Annise Parker put forward the feeding ordinance, which actually finded Food Not Bombs, to not feed homeless people. I advocated for homeless. When they put forward that civility ordinance at the city of Houston, I actually put forward an amendment to make sure that our MCOT and crisis intervention teams could be there if a homeless person was having a mental health breakdown because I did not want them to end up in jail. And so the decisions that she has made do not support people, people thriving within the county. It is a big budget. It is a lot of people, but I've represented at-large the majority of the county, right, as your city council member. Many people say that I'm not ready for day one. I don't have the level of experience, mayor, controller, etc. I actually say to that, I'm glad I don't because when you're in that bubble of politics and you hear the internal chatter, you are completely disconnected with affordability challenges. Single moms are trying to raise their kids and keep them in school systems and work multiple jobs just to put food on the table. You're disconnected with those issues. And so, I'm glad that I'm not a career politician. And I'm glad I'm a small business owner and honestly a black female that's raised three sons, pretty much as a single parent the majority of their lives. And I really just understand what it's going to take for all of us to be able to thrive and to be able to function. And so my care and my compassion for people, but my also my fight, and my focus to make sure that nothing will deter me. I don't take no for an answer. I'm a collaborator, but I'm also going to put pressure on the state, on the federal government to make sure that our communities meet exactly what we deserve in Harris County.
Black Girls Politickin (host):
And one thing you mentioned that I think is crucial for individuals that are maybe new to you and maybe new to your platform and if you could expand on it, I think that would be really great. So, you talked about term limits in your current seat. There are going to be misinformation, right? Misinformation is a big thing and people may beg the question, why leave your seat? So, can you speak to that just a bit?
Letitia Plummer (candidate):
Yeah, absolutely. So, I don't know if you've heard of the term lame duck, but typically when you get to about a year and a half, just under two years of your term, you're kind of a lame duck. I very rarely, Michaela, do I believe that politicians can actually look at what they've done in their seats and say, "I've done my job." Everything that I set out to do, that vision board I created when I first got elected, everything that I put on paper and committed to community, I actually got it done. In my mind, unlike a lot of folks that just kind of stay there forever, I felt like I did my job. I served my community. I completed the task at hand. And I'm a lame duck. And now there's an opportunity for me to to reach a broader network of people and represent them in the exact same way that I did at city council. I could have stayed there, Michaela. I could have. I really could have. I could have spent the next year and a half finding things to do, trying to create more projects. I could have. I just genuinely believe and this was a lot of counsel, talking to my mentors um in the communities really hashing this out. The question was, do I stay and find other things to do, or do I leave knowing that I've done the job, and do it in the right way? And that was really key, right? I left to make sure that my race was on that CD18 race to ensure that we did not spend any additional dollars in the budget. Right. To make sure that we could create the best opportunity to keep the at-large IV seat represented by African-Americans. That's historically what it's been, right? And so, I just don't genuinely think that if I stayed there, I could have done much more than what I did do. I think that I think that when you can say job well done and walk away um with no doubt, with no questions or hesitation and say it's now time for God to create an open path for me to do something different. That's genuinely how I felt. And what you see in the voting box is exactly that. It's people saying she's ready for something new.
Black Girls Politickin (host):
And I really wanted you to touch on that because I think misinformation runs rampant if people don't actually answer the question. So, thank you for answering that. I think there are individuals where it just may come up and people just genuinely don't know. So, yes, thank you so much for answering that. So moving forward, given your work on policing oversight and equity initiatives, what concrete steps would you take as Harris County Judge to build trust between law enforcement, justice-involved individuals and advocates, as well as impacted communities, especially those who we know, and you talked a little bit about the jail system, that are disproportionately impacted by systemic inequities.
Letitia Plummer (candidate):
So all of that is my was really my focus. When George Floyd passed away, I was the one that really pushed council to put in police reform. Pushed them hard. As a matter of fact, I'm the one that put the amendment forward to reallocate funds to support It Can't Wait. To support cultural diversity and training with HPD to really create a board, an oversight board that can look at how HPD is interacting with community, and so that is really that was the first year on my first term when that happened and so this is not new work for me. I also passed that amendment to be able to fund our crisis intervention teams and our medical outreach teams. I'm not sure if y'all are aware of this but 80% of our inmates at the Harris County Jail have mental health challenges. 80%. That is a big number. We spend $54,000 per inmate annually. We could literally send that inmate to college. And now they're talking out talking about building more jails and doing more with the Harris County jails. The Harris County Jail right now, we send out, we ship out in the tune of $50 million plus, 1,500 inmates annually to Mississippi and Louisiana. Costing us a lot of money. And and if we could just look at our nonviolent offenders, find ways to put a program together that would educate them, get them their GED, right? Give them vocational training, so when they get out of the jail system, they now have an opportunity to be a part of society to where they can thrive. Those are the things that I want to do. When you do that, you're now making sure they don't come back and be re-offenders, right? We're working with cities like the second chance program at the city of Houston to ensure that they have what they need. I'm going to fight to to to make sure that, you know, we have fair pay and equal pay and livable wages for folks. So, we got to deal with that on the state level, but we've got some good, you know, state reps that are fighting for that as well. So we need to, we often times look at crime at the end, we look at who's in jail. I want to look at the root causes of crime. Like why does an individual make the decision to be a criminal, right? And I think that if you would ask the general population, they feel like they have to, to either survive or because they didn't have mentorship or because they didn't get a good education to see that there are other opportunities for them. Now, I'm not supporting crime at all. But I do understand that you can get caught up in the system very, very quickly and I think that Texas does that often. I'm looking at increasing workforce apprenticeship programs, obviously second chance programs, but looking at non-violent offenders and how we can create diversion opportunities for them. Pre-trial releases for non-violent offenders. Those are the things I want to do as as the county judge, and so you know we often say you know we don't feel safe, but we would feel a lot safer if people had opportunity. And this is where I go back, to my opponent not supporting HISD. We just closed 12 schools, right? When you close 12 schools in community of color, where do you think those kids are going to go? I mean, they're going to ultimately find easier ways to get in trouble, right, to possibly get themselves within the criminal justice system. And once they get there, it's just so hard for them to get out. And that's going to be my first 100 day initiative, just really looking at how we can work with people in the criminal justice system and ensure that we give people an opportunity. But this is not new work for me. I've been I've done this already. I started doing it and I'm going to continue.
Black Girls Politickin (host):
And I want to just expand a little bit on what uh what you mentioned which is individuals commit crimes for a reason, right? There are root causes and so one of the things that you touched on was ultimately affordability, right? So what does that look like from a county judge perspective? Now Harris County, I will say we have in this county passed living wages for Harris County workers. So there is a foundation for doing this work. There's also been a lot of work around, you know, helping our unhoused community. So what does it look like to really expand on this work in this particular role?
Letitia Plummer (candidate):
Absolutely. So, first of all, funding is critical. We have to make sure that we've got the resources allocated to make that happen. One thing that we did at the city of Houston is we did a a set aside for new home buyers. And the county has a program similar to this as well. And they were able to make contributions um to these people to allow them to buy their first home. What I worry about, what I worried about when I was when this came across our desk at at council was that we weren't talking about fiscal responsibility and we were not talking about um um financial literacy. It's great to be able to get the house, right? But we have to make sure that we're teaching people how to budget their checkbooks and create that level of understanding of how finances work, what that property tax amount is going to be as it increases when you live within Harris County and you live within that kind of you know kind of near the city where we seeing gentrification happen. Are you going to be able to see and afford those incremental increases in property taxes? So, what I want to do at the county level is not only give them incentives to buy a new home, right? But also give them the financial literacy that they're going to need to be able to map out how that looks year after year after year. We don't want them to have a home and then lose it, right? The other piece in terms of affordability is, you know, one initiative I put forward called my apartment inspection reform ordinance. In the city of Houston specifically, we've got about 5,000 apartment complexes, but 50% of of Houstononians, which are the largest part of the county, live in multi-family. Yeah. And they do that because they can't afford homes. Now, it's going to be really hard- property taxes, they say, are going to stay low. I mean, that's something that everyone's pushing right now. But what people don't understand is appraised values are changing. If your home is appraised higher, your property taxes are going to increase. And that's that quiet thing that happens often times. So, we got to educate folks and let them know that we got to prepare. But all of those things, even if we drop those houses down to an affordable rate, even if we do all of those things, if we don't pay you an equitable wage, a livable wage, then none of it's possible for you. And so what I want to do is really look at that and how we can make sure that we have this workforce that we're creating our own workforce of people that are able to um take care of their families and and you know, and create some value.
Black Girls Politickin (host):
And I think that's something that's plaguing obviously everyone at the moment, but it's something that, you know, especially families, they think about a lot is affordability. You spoke about this cycle of crime as well, but it does it puts people in a cycle of crime and poverty when they amass these bills, can't afford them, and then they have to do or perform criminal activity in order to keep up with life with, what's being thrown from a federal level and obviously from a state level as well. So you've kind of spoken to that.
Letitia Plummer (candidate):
With what's happening at the state level and I think we're going to talk you're probably going about touch on this. I don't want to get ahead of you but what's happening at the state level, what we have to realize for the city of Houston for the county is that local government is our last line of defense. No one is coming to save us. The state's not. The federal government's not. We need to figure out ways to care of ourselves. And that's really what I want to focus on. But I want to make sure that everyone understands that we got to take care of home. You probably heard that. I know my grandma said a whole bunch of times. You gota take care of home. That's where we are. We got to take care of home. And I'm really the only one I'm the best suited to be able to do that.
Black Girls Politickin (host):
And one thing, thinking about taking care of home, I recently heard someone say, the closer you are to the bottom of the ballot, the closer you are to your home. And so that's why with Black Girls Politickin we've been encouraging people go down ballots, like make it all the way to the bottom because that's so important. With the county judge role itself, we've noticed and we've seen it really requires consensus-building with the other commissioners, with other officials, with the state level. It also requires consensus among community. How do you plan to forge bipartisan or even cross ideological support for justice reform for housing for these initiatives that you've, kind of based your values upon and that you really want to see pushed?
Letitia Plummer (candidate):
So, I think we just go back to what I've done already, right? I've currently been a council member. I've got council members, district members that I had to align with. They knew their areas better than anyone else did. If I ever wanted to put a policy forward, it was advantageous to me to shop that around to each of them based on what they're experiencing and what they're seeing in their communities. We've got to create consensus, and we have to collaborate. And I really do believe that I'm able to have a conversation with someone and look at the data, right? Everything that I put forward is really a three-prong. It's a data approach. It's looking at stakeholders on both sides. It's creating policies and dealing with elected officials and whoever those people may be. And bringing that policy together, and then going back to the stakeholders and saying, "What do you think about this?" And then and then finding the money, right? Going out and finding the money. And I've done that just I'll give you just two examples of what I've done with that. When I was working on my cancer cluster initiative in that Fifth Ward community, myself and council member Jackson; we worked closely together; we blockwalked together. She knew this was something that was happening in the community. We knew that she didn't have the resources to be able to put together any type of medical support in that community, so I got on a plane and went to D.C. and fought for them, and I was able to bring down $1.8 million dollars from the federal government. That is an initiative that now I partner with National Minority Equity Forum which is highly funded by the pharmaceutical industry, by the federal government and all these other entities, and now we're able to do early detection cancer screening to all 200 residents that are within the cancer cluster boundary. That's collaboration. We had a conversation with Commissioner Ellis about this as well. We had his support, right? That's collaboration. There are multitude of examples of what that looks like. I think my apartment ordinance is probably another one like really talking to council member Pollard and Castillo, and Martinez and council member um Jackson because their districts have the highest level of multi-family that are being mistreated, right? So what does all of that look like? We had multiple conversations and so there's no way, folks may not know the commissioners run the- we manage the budget, but they've got money to spend which is very much like an at-large member. I don't get a budget as an at-large member. And so if I want to do something, I've got to find other resources to be able to fund my projects because I don't get a budget in the same way that the judge's seat is with the commissioners. And so collaboration, working across the aisle is going to be important, but I'll say this to you, you know, Michaela, we're gonna have to work across the aisle, but we also have to have someone that'll stand up to a bully. I think that's going to be really important. We can't sell our souls for something really small, and lose the big picture. We're going to look at that very closely and we're going to be smart about it. I'm not going to start fights just to start one. But I'm but I'm definitely going to make sure that the state and the federal government understand that they can't come and just kind of bully us. I mean, we really have to come to the table and find um ways to collaborate. The other last piece of this is working with the Houston Galveston Area Council. You know, a lot of times when a disaster comes, the money goes to HGAC and then they send it out to the counties. So really sitting in that seat. I sat on that board um as a as a um as a freshman council member. You know, I'll be in that seat as a county judge. So I'm hearing what's going on. And this is going to have to be a regional approach. It's not just Houston. It's 33 other cities in the region with the or in the county that I'm gonna have to work with, and I'm really looking forward to doing that.
Black Girls Politickin (host):
Yeah, I love that. So, you have a plan; just so everyone knows you have a plan for collaboration. You have a plan to get everyone on board, and you've done this before which I think is just super duper helpful, and I love that. So, I love that a county judge that is ready and prepared. So, go ahead.
Letitia Plummer (candidate):
I want to get one more thing in there because a lot of folks say that we just are not ready, and I want to tell them that we are. So let me just kind of give you three more examples. Commissioner Briones and I work on shared services and parks. It's the best and we do such a great job with it. Commissioner Garcia has mobile healthcare units in collaboration with Baylor. Fully supporting, that really looking at Harris Health as a safety net. Commissioner Ellis and I work together on the cancer cluster initiatives. I know a lot of folks don't like bike lanes, but I'm a transportation equity kind of person. That's what I am. That's who I am. And so really just kind of supporting what that looks like with, you know, with him. All the environmental challenges that that precinct one deals with, whether it be flooding challenges, environmental issues, etc. And so I'm already working with these commissioners. Commissioner Ramsey and I, some portion of the city is in his district, but I haven't had the opportunity to work with them closely, but I've already sat down with him. I already know what's important to him, and that's obviously public safety. And so we're going to look and work together to make sure. So I'm going to sit on in that seat as a county judge obviously with the support of everyone watching. So I'm asking I'm not expecting to be there. I'm asking for for people to allow me to to have this opportunity, but I'm ready to work with all of them. My role is to create a situation to where each commissioner can look at something from a different lens. And that and I want to bring that level of a vision to them and just test them in and say, "Listen, what if we did it this way? Would this be something that you would want to do? Can we look at the pros and cons of what this looks like?" And really work together and push this county forward in the right way.
Black Girls Politickin (host):
I think that's helpful, right? I think that's what that seat is for. That seat is and I think ultimately sometimes we lose sight, but at the end of the day that seat is also meant to serve the people. And so having to reach across different perspectives and gauging different opinions is very important. So obviously that's the type of county judge that anyone should want and should be vying for. So I appreciate that. Now, this is Black Girls Politickin and so I have to ask- you know we pay very close attention to firsts around here, and you if my records are correct you would be the first black woman to sit in this seat. What does that mean to you and what do you think that would mean for the individuals that you'd ultimately serve?
Letitia Plummer (candidate):
I've already been the first as the first Muslim council member in the state of Texas. So, that sits on my shoulders, right? What I think that that means for me is responsibility. We already carry so much responsibility as black women. Whether it be head of households, whether it be in our families, as our matriarchs, whether that be as an auntie or godmommy, whatever that looks like in our village; we just carry so much on us, and we have to make so many decisions oftentimes to the detriment of who we are, right? We're always in the front lines and we're underestimated and we're always thought less of. And so I believe that young girls are going to look at me and want to be able to do that, right? And I think that is something that I do not take lightly. And that is why I do so much community service. Young black women come in my dental practice all the time because um I mentor them and I want to take care of them and show them that, yes, it's more difficult for us, but we are made for this. And so I would say I've got to be that example and everything that I do, every step that I take, I've got to walk the walk and talk the talk. I cannot say I'm going to do something on one side and then do something else on the other side. I really got to be the right person as a black female in a very challenging political climate, and I just I do not take that lightly at all.
Black Girls Politickin (host):
So as we close I have one final question for you that is not campaign related. One final question outside of your campaign because I think you should be very very proud of that. What and outside of politics as well. What is something that you are most proud of?
Letitia Plummer (candidate):
I know it's so cliche, but my boys. Being able to raise three black men, they were at the most pivotal times of their lives during George Floyd's death. They have watched the unrest that we've seen. I've raised them as a single mom. They have really done a good job. And they've all found their own paths, and they've all done their different things, and I've let them spread their wings and experience different avenues. I I've got one that's a musician. I've got one that plays basketball, and I got one that's wants to be in corporate. Like they're so different. I've had to become three moms to raise them. But I know it's so cliche to say your kids, but I just know how hard it is for black men. I get choked up when I talk about this because one turn, if they just had one turn, it would have been different for them. And so I think they're my proudest moment. Honestly, I'm just really proud of them, and they they mentor young boys and they're such good stewards of society, and they work hard, and they don't expect something and they don't make excuses if they're not successful in something. They really, really understand, and they listened to me and my dad and my mom and my sister and my brother, and they really have shown that they are good men. I always say that I'm raising husbands, right? I'm raising black husbands for some young beautiful whoever, right? And so I just feel comfortable if I die tomorrow, I feel comfortable that I've left three men here that are going to take care of somebody really really well, and and create a family and take it very seriously. So, I think that would be it. I mean, I know that may be cliche, but-
Black Girls Politickin (host):
No, I think that's beautiful. I think a lot of parents feel similar, but I think on top of that, that's a testament to who you are because you did raise them. One thing you touched on, and I love to draw comparisons, and I just thought about it, but the same way you'd ultimately be doing this work, and building consensus and reaching out to very different offices, and very different people, and dealing with very different precincts - you've already done that as a mother as well. So, I think that's a really nice testament to what your work could potentially look like if elected for this seat. So before we end it, can you just remind people how they can get involved, especially with this runoff coming up? How can they get involved? What are the dates? Just tell us all of the things that we need to know.
Letitia Plummer (candidate):
All the things. Okay. May the 26th um is is election day. We only have one week of early voting. So, I'll give you I'll make sure that we post some stuff um on that. This is going to be a a typically low voter turnout for runoff. So, I'm encouraging everyone to please get out and vote. You can find me on all socials. I even have a Tik Tok. So, I'm on Tik Tok. Twitter, I'm on Facebook, Instagram; I'm on all all of the things. My opponent is going to raise tons of resources. My race getting to this point was driven by volunteers, driven by people that believed in our efforts that wanted to see things happen. So, I'm asking all of your your your listeners and folks watching this podcast, please sign up to volunteer, even if it's just for an hour, but every phone call you make, every block we walk allows me to save money in spaces where I need to use it in other ways. Every sign, if you gave me $25, you just bought me three yard signs. It makes a difference. And so, what I want people to know is we don't need to win big. We just need to win. And I'm really excited just for this opportunity. My level of gratitude is through the roof. I just cannot tell you how grateful I am to have the opportunity, just this opportunity to be able to be your Harris County Judge.
Black Girls Politickin (host):
Yes. That's so awesome. Well, we just chatted with Dr. Leticia Plummer, who is currently vying for Harris County Judge. Thank you so much for taking time on what I'm sure is a busy night, busy week, busy month as we lead up to the runoffs. So, I just want to send my gratitude to you and your team.