HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — On Tuesday, Harris County Democrats voted 129 to 61 to admonish District Attorney Kim Ogg for how she's doing her job. It's a rare move not often used by Harris County Democrats.
"It's historic, it is rare and I'm glad it was overwhelmingly decisive because it's very clear where we stand," Harris County Democratic precinct chair Daniel Cohen said.
An admonishment is a formal reprimand of a party going on record saying they don't support how a political ally is conducting themselves. In this case, the Harris County Democrats created a resolution of admonishment that listed more than a dozen things that they oppose about Ogg but mainly accused her of abusing her power to pursue vendettas against political opponents.
KHOU 11 spoke to Ogg the day after the vote and she said it won't change how she does her job upholding the law.
"What I heard last night was a number of people fed a steady stream of misinformation, basically wanting me to put party over my oath to follow the law," Ogg said.
Ogg is talking about her office's investigation into three of Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo's former staffers for public corruption. She said her office won't be pressured to stop any public corruption investigation.
"There's a ton of political pressure to stop investigating public corruption and that can't be a deciding factor when ethics are a major part of running this system," Ogg said.
The admonishment vote comes at a critical time for Ogg. She's been outraised in her primary race against Sean Teare, one of her former prosecutors who has been endorsed by Hidalgo.
Ogg said it's a troubling conflict of interest.
"My opponent works for the firm that's defending one of Lina Hidalgo's staffers," she said.
KHOU 11 political analyst Brandon Rottinghaus said the intra-party battles between Ogg and Hidalgo have reached a new boiling point.
"It could mean political danger for the DA," he said.
Ogg said she trusts the voters to see through the politics.
"The best thing I can do is do my job," she said. "Let our prosecutors, let the Texas Rangers do their job and let the voters do their job on March 5."
Harris County Democratic Party Chairman Mike Doyle said he will ensure a full and fair primary election among all Democratic candidates including the district attorney candidates.
In response to the admonishment vote, Teare responded:
“This rebuke reflects what I have heard from rank-and-file Democrats across Harris County on the campaign trail. I share their concerns and echo their call for change. They see what I witnessed firsthand as a prosecutor – that Kim Ogg has somehow managed to make an already broken criminal justice system even worse. Democrats have grown tired of Ogg’s broken promises and inability to work with county leadership to get things done. Harris County deserves a DA that prioritizes public safety and justice over politics. If elected as District Attorney, I am committed to ensuring that we have a justice system that truly serves the people."