Lupe Valdez

Lupe Valdez is an American law enforcement official and the Sheriff of Dallas County, Texas. She is Texas's only elected female sheriff, as well as being the only openly lesbian holder of that office.

Early life
Born to migrant farm worker parents, she was raised in San Antonio as one of eight children. She started life working in the fields, but paid her way through college, earning a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration. She then earned a Master's degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Texas at Arlington.

Career
Prior to entering law enforcement, Lupe Valdez was an officer in the United States Army. During her time in the Army, she attained the rank of Captain.

Her law enforcement career began as a jailer, first in a county jail and then a federal prison. She then moved on to investigative roles as an agent of the General Services Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and, finally, the U.S. Customs Service where she was a leader in the federal Counter Smuggling Initiative. With the creation of the Department of Homeland Security in 2002, she was made a Senior Agent, serving in that role until her retirement in 2004. In January 2004, Lupe Valdez retired to run for the office of Dallas County Sheriff.

Election as Sheriff
On January 2, 2004, Lupe Valdez announced her candidacy for the Democratic nomination for Dallas County Sheriff. During the primary election, she faced three opponents, and finished as the highest vote-getter with 13,867 votes. She subsequently won a run-off election against future Dallas County Judge Jim Foster. Valdez won 73% of the vote in the run-off.

As she entered the general campaign, Valdez was widely considered the underdog in her general election race against Republican Danny Chandler. Chandler, a 30-year veteran of the Sheriff's Department, had defeated incumbent Sheriff Jim Bowles in the Republican primary. Bowles, who was tainted by corruption allegations, had held the office for 20 years.

The general election saw Valdez beat Chandler by 51.3% to 48.7% - a margin of some 18,000 votes. The election, combined with the fact that Valdez is female, Hispanic and a lesbian, made national headlines and was even reported overseas.

As an openly gay candidate for public office, Valdez's campaign won the backing of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund. She was sworn in on January 1, 2005.

Valdez is a committed Christian, and formerly attended the pro-gay Cathedral of Hope of Greater Dallas.

Upon taking office as Dallas County Sheriff, Valdez faced a department that was wracked by poor morale, tainted by allegations of corruption and marred by the fact that the Dallas County Jail had begun failing state and federal inspections prior to her election. The jail had failed inspections because of poor sanitation conditions, a failing smoke evacuation system, unacceptable medical care, and a lack of sufficient guards to meet the legally-required guard-to-inmate ratio.

The Dallas County Jail has continued to fail inspections every year that Valdez has been in office.

Controversy
Sheriff Valdez's tenure has been marked by a number of controversies.

Areas of criticism in the press have included:
 * Allegedly poor communications inside the department, with county officials, and with the press.
 * Dallas County jails still failing state inspections,      though with improving levels of compliance at least partly due to Dallas County spending "millions" to improve sanitation and jail health.
 * Declining arrest rates for driving while intoxicated and alleged disproportionate DWI arrests of Hispanics.
 * High levels of overtime.
 * Using trainee jail guards in the jails.
 * Taking 2 years to successfully pass her Texas Peace Officer Certification examination after being elected.
 * Engaging in campaign activities while in uniform.
 * Grant applications management controversies.
 * Failing to update promotion lists via testing, and promoting some staff without currently valid lists.
 * Allowing some deputies to use take-home cars outside county Commissioners' Court-approved guidelines.
 * Violating "long-standing policy" in Dallas County, which was upheld by a state district judge, by authorizing the Discovery Channel to film a documentary without gaining required Commissioner Court permission. This prompted the Commissioners Court to unanimously seek (and ultimately get ) a restraining order against the Sheriff. The Dallas Morning News editorial board criticized the Sheriff's handling of the matter: "the positive publicity from finally meeting state standards would have been superior to that of a cable documentary and an unnecessary fight with those who hold her purse strings." The legal costs to the county could be as high as $11,000.
 * A July 15, 2008 news conference where the National Latino Peace Officers Association, Dallas County Peace Officers Association, Dallas County Sheriff's Association and Fraternal Order of Police, frustrated because Sheriff Valdez "repeatedly refused to meet" with them over labor issues, "blasted [Sheriff Valdez] for lack of leadership and inaction during [Dallas County's fiscal year 2009] budget crisis," further alleging that Valdez's leadership has "led to a historic low in morale and an 'overwhelming view of no confidence within our ranks.'"

2008 re-election campaign
Sheriff Valdez formally filed for re-election to a second term on December 3, 2007.

She faced criticism from her opponents and the Dallas Morning News.

Valdez won the 2008 primary, narrowly avoiding a runoff by winning 50.85% in a four-candidate field on March 4, 2008.