Democrat Annette Ramirez narrowly defeated Republican Steve Radack in the race for Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector Tuesday.
In complete but unofficial returns posted early Wednesday, Ramirez maintained her lead over the former county commissioner who was seeking a return to Harris County government after four years out of office.
Ramirez will replace Ann Harris Bennett, who is retiring after serving two four-year terms in the role.
Reached by phone shortly before 11 p.m., Ramirez said she was “cautiously optimistic” that the county’s record 318,000 Election Day votes would favor Democratic candidates. Ramirez watched returns at the Harris County Democratic Party’s election night party at Axelrad Beer Garden but said she was heading home anticipating a slow counting of ballots.
“I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep, so I’ll probably go home and keep refreshing my screen there,” Ramirez said.
The longtime tax attorney with Aldine ISD, campaigned on her experience, telling voters her current work administering the school district’s property tax collection in-house will allow her to streamline Harris County’s tax office.
She faced off against Radack, a business owner and former Precinct 3 County Commissioner from 1988 to 2020, who promised to be a check on a Commissioners Court he says has become too liberal since his time as a commissioner.
Radack could not be reached for comment late Tuesday.
The last two years of Radack’s tenure as a commissioner was defined by frequent conflict with County Judge Lina Hidalgo and other Democratic members that swept into the majority in 2018. Radack said the court’s spending has been excessive and promised to use the office of Tax Assessor-Collector as a bully pulpit to watchdog county spending.
The campaign was defined by each candidate’s experience. Radack leaned heavily on his decades as an elected county official while Ramirez argued her current work makes her the best person for the job.
The youngest of three children of Mexican immigrants, Ramirez was born and raised in El Paso. She graduated from Texas A&M-Galveston with a bachelor’s degree in maritime administration in 1995. Her career initially began in logistics and operations in the oil and gas industry before she changed directions and attended South Texas College of Law, where she received her law degree in 2000.
Ramirez is a single mother of three children and has lived in Galveston County for most of her career, commuting to her work in Harris County. Ramirez said she moved to Houston’s Rice Military neighborhood in April 2023 once the youngest of her children were preparing to graduate from high school.
Radack has been a public servant in Harris County for the majority of his career, beginning in 1969, when he joined the Houston Police Department, where he worked as a police officer for 11 years. After leaving the department in 1980 to start a ceiling fan business with his wife, Radack reentered law enforcement in 1984, when he was elected Precinct 5 constable. He served in that role for one term before winning the Precinct 3 seat on Commissioners Court.
Radack was known as an outspoken member of the court who prioritized the creation of parks, roads and bridges in his precinct. His last year on the court was spent often in opposition to the court’s Democratic majority, but he has not always toed the Republican Party line, including calling for state leadership to expand Medicaid.
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