Sonya L. Aston Email & Phone Number

Houston, Tx, Us

Sonya Aston is a candidate to be Judge for the 157th Judicial District which covers all of Harris County, Texas. The bench is a civil bench handling personal injury, contract disputes, medical malpractice, environmental, election, etc.

Providing consultation to elected officials, government officials, party officials, candidates, non-profit election organizations, voters and general public regarding elections, ballot integrity, public law, proposed legislation and legislative process. • General Counsel to State Senator Paul Bettencourt• Advising multiple Emergency Services Districts regarding their elections and various contractual matters through Coveler and Peeler• Associate General Counsel for OSET Institute Inc., advising on the administration of elections, governmental operations, election equipment, election software and election operations.• Oversaw Ballot Integrity program covering the state of Texas for the November 2020 Election• Oversaw Ballot Integrity program during the City of Houston Election November and December 2019.

Bringing extensive experience in event and emergency preparedness to provide a comprehensive review of business operations to determine their vulnerabilities in the face of an emergency and provide solutions. Defined by those experiencing the situation, an emergency can include loss of personnel, location, customers, vendors, data, reputation, etc. • wide-ranging background in emergency preparedness and response with the City of Houston and Harris County • Bringing experience and creativity to the private sector • Problem-solving - working with start-ups and existing business to trouble-shoot legal and business related issues. • Business continuity - developing surveys to identify vulnerabilities in business continuity for existing businesses• Policy development - working with start-ups, chamber, existing companies to forge policies for the organization• Crisis Management - work with the Harris County Office of Emergency Management during emergency situations• Entrepreneurial spirit and initiative - collaborating on a global e-commerce venture• Government Relations - maintaining existing relationships with governmental officials and officers• Legislative Analysis - providing legislative review for over 30 bills for political organizations and individuals during the Texas Legislative session• Election Consulting - providing education on elections and government to individuals and organizations • Speaker - spoke to political organizations, the Greater Houston STEPS Networking Meeting and the Houston Council of Safety Professionals• Writer - drafted proposed legislative bills, created and edited documents for Joyful Inspiration

Working with business owners to protect their assets by trademarking their company name, specialty products, their logo, etc. • Work with entrepreneurs, business owners, inventors and start-ups • Trademark filing and protection• Identify the best mark for business/product to be protected with the USPTO and internet • Consult to bring about the highest use of the trademark in the branding and commerce of the business owner. • Legislative consulting and analysis• Government consulting local, federal and state levels• Business Continuity - reviewed IP portfolio and provide business and legal advice• Emergency Preparedness and Response - spoke to several organizations regarding emergency preparedness. • Crisis Management - Worked with the Harris County Office of Emergency Management• Litigation Support - provide discovery support and advice in Trademark infringement case

• Successfully conducted many elections including 8 primary, 2 presidential and gubernatorial elections.• Implemented cross-training to address serious single point of failure issues. • increased staff productivity and efficiency through training, policy development and problem-solving.• Managed staff of 60 permanent employees to over 6,000 temporary employees.• Created training programs, reducing mistakes by poll workers by at least 30 % each election. • Key member of legislation team in the successful passage of many election bills every session • Developed ballot tracking program for military and overseas voters, increasing access by 100%.• Consistently resolved 90% of issues with political party leaders, governmental entity leaders, state and federal legislators, civic leaders and the public. • Awarded a federal grant for $500,000 for program for military and overseas voters ballot program.• Leader of the Joint Information Center at TRANSTAR during emergency events.• Problem solving by addressing needs every day as new issues and situations arose constantly. • Emergency Preparedness - each election is a 6 week long emergency period. Preparedness is essential for the success of the election• Crisis Management - The last days of early voting and Election Day can be a crisis situation as many issues arise and have to be addressed immediately so that results can be posted in the evening. • Legislative Analysis - constantly reviewed proposed legislation on the state and federal levels in support of the Election Process• Compliance - constantly ensured compliance to Election laws and to Harris County policies• Training - trained permanent and temporary employees on Election issues, Customer Service, Leadership, email usage, public information, litigation procedures.• Policy Development - after every election performed post-election analysis to develop and update office policies and procedures.

In 2012, I ran in the Republican Primary as a candidate for the 127th Civil District Court, receiving nearly 31% of the vote with 37,690 voters supporting me. The campaign team worked diligently to bring wide-range support. We met with many of the Republican Women's groups, Pachyderm Clubs and other conservative organizations to ensure voters that I would follow the law in providing fair, thoughtful and even-handed results.

• In-house counsel for the Harris County Tax Office, third largest county in the nation.• Increased collection of delinquent property taxes through investigation and better quality tax sales. • Reduced the immense five-year backlog of overdue liquor licenses by 90%. • Increased vehicle title company investigations resulting in multiple DA investigations.• Director of the Troy Blando Board overseeing compliance issues for title companies. • Led the strike team going after delinquent business tax payers, securing assets for tax payment• Created a program to address lack of gameroom machine permits throughout Harris County for over 1,000 locations. • Created review process of voter registration apps resulting in rejection of 100s of fraudulent applications. • Significantly reduced offending deputy voter registration activity through voter registration investigation • Drafted and promoted legislation in support of good government initiatives.

· Highly successful in bidding and staffing large attorney contract projects. · Supervised over 40 attorneys on variety of litigation and research projects.· Able to work independently to draft, review, analyze and interpret contracts· Interviewed counsel for available positions· Used entrepreneurial spirit for marketing openings for legal counsel and legal support

· Led a team of attorneys on the Enron litigation. · Responsible for team reviewing millions of documents for a database used by multiple parties.· Supervised attorneys on special projects in response to partner requests and litigation needs. · Strategized with partners on multiple projects related to the discovery process.• Trained attorneys on discovery review process.

· Worked on a variety of environmental litigation projects, including Ship Channel Barge litigation, groundwater contamination issues and permitting issues. · Presented speeches for industry groups including warehousing, Houston Port Bureau, women's groups, and Houston Bar Association. • Provided legislative analysis to clients and firm partners on variety of environmental issues.

· Interpretation of highly technical and analytical materials.· Comprehension, over-sight and decision-making on groundwater modeling projects and ground water system.· Trial preparation, witness preparation, client counseling and coordination of experts and outside counsel for filings in the California Charnock Wellfield MTBE regulatory litigation matters, including groundwater contamination and migration. · Advised on the remediation efforts to resolve the ground issues and water issues.· In addition, handled California UST Fund reimbursement, Internal Environmental Audit issues, and retail site contamination issues.

Environmental Enforcement:· Developed policy for civil and criminal environmental enforcement and air contamination investigation.· First chair on administrative and civil litigation.· Due to rapport with department leaders, became the “first to call” in environmental incidences. · Participated in state and federal environmental policy development boards. · Received the largest award to the City of Houston, $80M for an environmental contamination case regarding the illegal storage of hazardous chemicals by the San Jacinto Paint Company. · Leadership role in the Mayor's Executive Air Contamination Policy Board.· Participated on State Committee to review Air Contamination legislation and Policy Development.· Worked closely with Harris County District Attorney to coordinate investigation and prosecution of environmental violations, in particular solid waste dumping, electro-plating companies, and hazardous material storage.· Successfully won 5-week Administrative case preventing the construction of a landfill in the middle of a growing residential area within Houston's ETJ. · Worked closely with Harris County legislative group, local organizations, civic leaders and COH officials to support environmental related legislation.Construction Litigation: · Changed litigation strategy that put the City of Houston on a level playing field by counter-suing construction vendors taking advantage of a governmental entity. · Oversaw multiple cases regarding the improper implementation of corrective measures made by vendors in response to the Department of Justice's requirement to replace or reline thousands of miles of storm sewer lines. As a result, construction quality improved 85% by the vendors. · Worked closely with Harris County legislative group, local organizations, civic leaders and COH officials to support COH sponsored legislation.

· Performed legal research on white collar criminal cases.· Supported litigation team on the Brio Superfund Site, creating and maintaining library.· Drafted pleadings for all manner of litigation.

Lead Paralegal • Supervised the response to the federal grand jury regarding Alyeska's involvement in the Exxon Valdez tanker incident. • Spearheaded the implementation of the use of database for millions of records. • Integral member of strategy team for the largest litigation in existence at the time. • Drafted and reviewed state and federal legislation related to the activities of the oil and gas industry.

Bachelor'S Degree, Major: World History Minor: English

Bachelor Of Arts (Ba), World History

Jd, Law

High School