"Don't be ashamed you're Mexican." That was the first rule Adrian Garcia's father gave him.

Adrian was working in his father's North Side auto shop when he applied to the Houston Police Department. Before he joined, his father gave him four more rules: don't be ashamed of the name Garcia, don't bring shame to it, be honest, and never forget where you come from. He went on to serve 23 years with HPD and became Harris County's first Latino sheriff.

And if you think your vote doesn't count: in 2018, running for Harris County Commissioner, Precinct 2, Garcia trailed for hours after the polls closed. The late boxes came in after midnight, and the lead flipped.

Hiram and Domingo sit down with Adrian Garcia to talk about what a county commissioner actually decides, the fights over voting in Harris County, his view of ICE tactics after the killing of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, and his advice to young Latinos thinking about law enforcement or running for office. Garcia is on the November 3 ballot, running for re-election against Republican Richard Vega.

Adrian Garcia's campaign: https://www.adriangarcia.com
Check your registration and find your polling place: https://www.votetexas.gov/
Early voting: October 19–30. Election Day: November 3.

🎙️ More from Tejano Talks:
• What your county commissioner, DA, county judge, and JP actually decide:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEyMV_vhnOg
• "I Was Declared Dead": check your Texas voter registration now:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTcaFnYlOdM

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IN THIS EPISODE
— The five rules his father gave him before he joined the Houston Police Department
— Working alongside HPD's Chicano Squad, the country's first all-Latino homicide unit
— A sheriff's race he says he expected to lose, and becoming Harris County's first Latino sheriff
— What a county commissioner actually controls, from roads and drainage to clinics and county contracts
— Trailing on election night and winning after midnight: why the last boxes matter
— Harris County's voting-access fights, and his criticism of ICE tactics as a former sheriff
— "We need you": his advice to young Latinos considering law enforcement or public office

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CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
01:12 Son of immigrants, raised in his father's shop
02:03 The question his mother asked
02:59 His father's five rules
04:01 Undercover work and the Chicano Squad
05:20 From the anti-gang office to City Council
06:30 A sheriff's race he expected to lose
08:27 Election night: Harris County's first Latino sheriff
09:39 Two losses, then Precinct 2 after midnight
10:16 "Literally the mayor of my precinct"
12:13 What a county commissioner actually does
14:05 Health, jobs, and contracts on the east side
16:35 The fight over voting in Harris County
18:43 ICE tactics and Lorenzo Salgado Araujo
22:04 November, the economy, and young Latino voters
25:52 Ad: Domingo Garcia Law Firm
26:21 "We need you": advice for young Latinos
28:28 Never break the public's trust
29:27 Texans, Longhorns, and ride-or-die fandom
31:55 Closing

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ABOUT THE GUEST
ADRIAN GARCIA is the Harris County Commissioner for Precinct 2, first elected in 2018 and re-elected in 2022. He is running for a third term on November 3, 2026, against Republican Richard Vega. The youngest of six children of Mexican immigrant parents, he grew up on Houston's North Side and served 23 years with the Houston Police Department, including as director of the Mayor's Anti-Gang Office. He represented District H on the Houston City Council from 2004 to 2009, serving as Mayor Pro Tem under Mayor Bill White, and was Harris County Sheriff from 2009 to 2015, the county's first Latino sheriff.

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ABOUT THE HOSTS
DOMINGO GARCIA is a trial lawyer and one of the most important Latino political figures in Texas. He served on the Dallas City Council and, in 1993, became the first Latino ever elected Mayor Pro Tem of the city. In the Texas Legislature, he co-authored HB 1403 — the Texas DREAM Act. In 2006, he organized the largest march in Texas history, when more than 500,000 people filled downtown Dallas to demand immigration reform. He is a former national president of LULAC and has practiced law for more than 40 years.

HIRAM GILBERTO GARCIA is a journalist, producer, and public affairs strategist based in Austin. His frontline coverage of the 2020 protests drew wide local and national attention.

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ABOUT TEJANO TALKS
Tejano Talks is a podcast hosted by Domingo Garcia and Hiram Garcia that blends cultural conversation, political analysis, and interviews with notable voices in Texas and beyond. We're here for Tejanos like us — to help you build wealth, honor your family, and make well-informed choices for your future.

Subscribe, and tell us in the comments who you want to see on the show next. We're on YouTube, Spotify, Instagram, and TikTok.

Views expressed by hosts and guests are their own.

#TejanoTalks #HarrisCounty #TexasVotes

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