AUSTIN, Texas — Travis County District Attorney José Garza is running for re-election.
Garza announced his re-election campaign Tuesday afternoon during an event at the Texas AFL-CIO auditorium.
In July 2020, Garza secured the Democratic nomination for Travis County DA after then-DA Margaret Moore conceded. Garza was then elected to serve as DA that November after defeating opponent Martin Harry.
During his time as DA, Garza has settled the lawsuits brought by survivors of sexual assault against the previous administration, expunged the records of over 1,000 Travis County residents who were arrested but never convicted and led the DA's Office in a plan for gun violence prevention, according to a press release sent by his office on Tuesday.
In November 2021, Garza's office established a Division of Victims Services to help prioritize the needs of victims across departments within the DA's office. In June 2022, Garza stated that his office would not prosecute people seeking abortions, following the overturning of Roe v. Wade. In the most recent notable action under Garza, the DA's office helped present a motion to dismiss the charges against Rosa Jimenez, an Austin woman who had her conviction in a child's choking death overturned.
"An advocate of transparency and data-driven policies, José has taken a hard line against violent actors, while recognizing that an incarceration-only approach promotes neither safety nor justice. Often a political target of the far right, José has shown through actions what we can accomplish when we partner with the community and recognize and defend the dignity and rights of all," Garza's office said.
Garza is a former federal public defender and immigrant rights activist who attended law school at Catholic University in Washington, D.C., where he worked for a federal district judge. He served as an assistant public defender at Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid and an assistant federal public defender in the Western District of Texas. Additionally, he has worked as deputy general counsel for the House Committee on Education and Labor, special counsel for the National Labor Relations Board, senior policy official at the U.S. Department of Labor and executive director of the Workers Defense Project.