Lupe Valdez embraces the “underdog” role; says it has served her well over the years.
DALLAS — In less than two weeks, Dallas County voters will decide the next sheriff during the runoff election between incumbent sheriff Marian Brown and former sheriff Lupe Valdez.
It’s an all-Democratic affair, as no Republican ran, so the winner on May 28 will run unopposed in November.
On Inside Texas Politics, we asked Valdez why she would want the job again.
“There’s a lot of issues going on that need to be corrected. And they’ve been going on for four years now, four or five years,” she responded.
Valdez was first elected Dallas County Sheriff in 2004, making her the first Latina to hold that office.
She stayed in the position until 2017, when she became the Democratic nominee for Governor, but lost by a large margin to incumbent Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.
We also asked Valdez how she would tell voters she’s most different than her opponent.
Valdez pointed to a job skills program she started as sheriff that helped inmates earn a degree from a community college and find a job after getting out of jail.
“Those programs don’t exist anymore. The $4 million that were used for those programs are put into something that the county is responsible for. I think that’s not only mismanagement. It’s not taking care of the people you need to change from tax users to taxpayers,” Valdez said.
When she left office to run for Governor, Valdez endorsed Marian Brown to succeed her as sheriff.
Valdez told us she never thought she’d be running against Brown seven years later.
Brown, herself, is Dallas County’s first Black sheriff.
We invited Brown to join us on Inside Texas Politics several times over a three week period, but she was never available.
The runoff election will be held May 28.
And with no Republican challenger on the ballot, the winner runs unopposed on November 5.