Sugar Land Businesswoman Neeta Sane announced Saturday she’s running in the Democratic primary for Fort Bend County Treasurer.
Sane becomes the third candidate running for a position county and state officials worked hard – and unsuccessfully – to eliminate earlier this year. She’s also the first Asian-American woman to run for county office.
“Today, I stand here with no doubt in my mind or my heart that it is high time that we bring positive changes to Fort Bend County.” Sane said, announcing her candidacy at a candidates forum in Richmond organized by the Fort Bend County Democrats Club. “The last duly elected Republican County Treasurer did not measure up to the honesty that the people of Fort Bend County deserve. In addition, the monopoly of the Republican Party government has shifted the balance of power so much that our fundamental system of checks and balances is severely affected.”
“I want to make sure our money is safe and our county finances are handled efficiently and with integrity,” Sane said.
Sane referred to former County Treasurer Jeanne Parr who was convicted in 2004 of misappropriating money from 4-H and Future Farmers of America organizations and tampering with government records. Parr spent 14 days in jail in the fall of 2004, and received a five-year adjudicated sentence that includes a $7,500 fine, prohibition from holding fiduciary office for five years, and evaluation for gambling addiction.
Parr resigned from office and was replaced on an interim basis with Cliff Terrell, who was appointed by the Fort Bend County commissioners.
Sane said she is “excited to step up to the plate” as the first Asian American woman to run for county-wide office in Fort Bend County, because “the need for a diverse group of people serving our county is becoming stronger.”
Sane operates a software development and consulting business and lives in Sugar Land with her husband, Deeapk and her son, a senior at Dulles High School.
Two Republican candidates already have announced for county treasurer, long-time Richmond businessman Jeff Council and New Territory businessman Naren R. Patel.
Council, who has operated his own insurance business, is a three-time past president of the Rosenberg-Richmond Area Chamber of Commerce who also is known for conducting charity auctions around the county.
Patel and his wife, Hansa, are in business together, and built the Comfort Suites motel in Stafford.
After Parr’s conviction, county commissioners voted to transfer several duties from the treasurer’s office elsewhere within county government. And then they tried to eliminate the position completely.
State Rep. Charlie Howard, R-Sugar Land, introduced legislation earlier this year calling for an amendment to the Texas Constitution specifically to abolish the county treasurer’s post in Fort Bend County.
Other state representatives serving the county, the county commissioners and the Greater Fort Bend Economic Development Council all supported Howard’s bill, saying it is a redundant position that could be eliminated to save money.
But the bill was opposed by the Texas Association of Counties and the County Treasurer’s Association of Texas. And State Rep. Jim Allen, R-Grand Prairie, chairman of the House County Affairs Committee, bottled up Howard’s bill in committee, refusing to put it up for a vote.
Allen said he believes the position provides a necessary check and balance in county government.
