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Lupe Valdez
Sheriff of Dallas County, Texas
Incumbent
Assumed office January 1, 2005
Preceded by	Jim Bowles
Personal details
Born	(1947-10-11) October 11, 1947 (age 64) San Antonio, Texas
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Religion	Christian
Website	lupevaldez.com

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.^[1]

Early life[link]

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^{[citation needed]}, 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[link]

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[link]

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 formerly attended the 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 which endanger prisoners, many of whom have not ultimately been found to be guilty of any crime and are merely being held pending being formally charged or, released; a failing smoke evacuation system, unacceptable medical care, and a lack of sufficient guards to meet the legally-required guard-to-inmate ratio.

Although the Dallas County Jail had begun failing state and federal inspections prior to Valdez being elected to office, the jail continued to fail inspections every year thereafter until 2010, when the jail passed certification by the State of Texas for the first time since 2003.^[2]

2008 Re-election[link]

Valdez formally filed for re-election to a second term on December 3, 2007.^[3] She faced criticism from her opponents^[4] and the Dallas Morning News.^[5]

Valdez won the 2008 primary, narrowly avoiding a runoff by winning 50.85% in a four-candidate field on March 4, 2008.^[6]

On November 4, 2008, Lupe Valdez was re-elected Sheriff of Dallas County with 388,327 votes to Lowell Cannaday's 322,808 votes, a margin of roughly 65,500. Valdez received over 99,000 more votes than the "Straight Democratic" option. She won in precincts across Dallas County, including formerly-Republican areas including Valley Ranch in Irving and Mesquite. Her opponent won most precincts in far North Dallas, Richardson, Coppell, and the southern part of Irving.^[7] She began her second four-year term on January 1, 2009.

Second Term[link]

In 2010, the Dallas County Jails passed inspection by the State of Texas for the first time since 2003. Completion of a new jail facility in 2009 and continued investment from Dallas County were cited as steps towards re-certification of the Dallas County jail system, which passed inspection once again in 2011. ^[8]

Also in 2010, Sheriff Valdez was elected to the Democratic National Committee^[9] and was appointed by President Barack Obama to a committee regarding immigration reform^[10].

In early December 2011, Valdez filed to run for a third term as Sheriff.

Controversy[link]

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.^{[11][12][13][14][15][16][17]}
• Dallas County jails still failing state inspections,^{[18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26]} though with improving levels of compliance at least partly due to Dallas County spending "millions" to improve sanitation and jail health.^[27]
• Declining arrest rates for driving while intoxicated and alleged disproportionate DWI arrests of Hispanics.^[28][29][29]
• High levels of overtime.^{[14][22][28][30][31][32][33]}
• Using trainee jail guards in the jails.^[34]
• Taking 2 years to successfully pass her Texas Peace Officer Certification examination after being elected.^[15]
• Engaging in campaign activities while in uniform. However, according to state law in Texas, it is not illegal for elected law enforcement officers, including sheriffs and constables, to campaign in their uniform.^[17][35]
• Grant applications management controversies.^[36]
• Failing to update promotion lists via testing, and promoting some staff without currently valid lists.^[37]
• Allowing some deputies to use take-home cars outside county Commissioners' Court-approved guidelines.^[38][39]
• Violating "long-standing policy" in Dallas County, which was upheld by a state district judge,^[40] by authorizing the Discovery Channel to film a documentary without gaining required Commissioner Court permission.^[27] This prompted the Commissioners Court to unanimously seek^[41] (and ultimately get^[42]) 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."^[43] The legal costs to the county could be as high as $11,000.^[40]
• Average freeway wreck clearing time has increased from 16 minutes in 2004 to 45 minutes in 2007.^[44]
• Eliminating patrol officers and moving all of them to freeway patrols for a goal of "boosting ticket revenue".^[44]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Election homepage
• Lupe Valdez Interview

Valdés is a surname of Asturian (Northern Spain) origin.

Both in North and South America the spelling Valdez is very common.

The exact meaning of "Valdés" is not clear. It may come from "Valle del Ese" in the Valdés County, Asturias (Spain), where the name originates, or as an evolution from the Germanic voice "balderich".

The name refers to:

• People
  • Antonio Valdés y Basán (Spanish naval officer), for whom Valdez, Alaska is named
  • Bebo Valdés, (born 1918), Cuban jazz composer and arranger
  • Cayetano Valdés y Flores (1767–1834), Spanish naval officer and explorer
  • Chayito Valdez (born 1945), Mexican musician and entertainer
  • Chucho Valdés, (born 1945), Cuban jazz musician and pianist
  • Cynthia Valdez (born 1987), Mexican rhythmic gymnast
  • Germán Valdés (1915–1973), Mexican actor, singer and comedian
  • Juan Dominguez y Valdez (1784 -?) military of Texas
  • Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés (1478–1557), Spanish historian
  • Jerónimo Valdés (1785–1855), Spanish general and governor of Cuba
  • Juan de Valdés (1500–1541), Spanish religious writer
  • Juan Meléndez Valdés (1754–1817), Spanish poet
  • Juan Valdez, a Costa Rican man whose affidavit certifying that he drinks Costa Rican coffee played a role in the Juan Valdez drinks Costa Rican coffee litigation
  • José Ramón Guizado Valdés (dates unknown), President of Panama 1955
  • José Travassos Valdez (1787–1862), Portuguese soldier and statesman
  • Miguel Alemán Valdés (1902–1983), President of Mexico 1946–1952
  • Nelson Haedo Valdez (born 1983), Paraguayan footballer
  • Peter Valdes (died before 1219), founder of a Christian sect
  • Ramon Maximiliano Valdés, President of Panama 1916–1918
  • Ramón Valdés (1923–1988), Mexican actor
  • Rodrigo Valdez (born 1946), Colombian former middleweight boxer
  • Roy Valdés (born 1920), Cuban Major League Baseball player
  • Víctor Valdés (born 1982), Spanish football goalkeeper
  • Wendy Valdez (born 1982), Filipina beauty queen, former reality star, and actress
  • Gov. Juan Valdez, colonial governor of Texas
• Fictional people
  • Juan Valdez, fictional character appearing in advertisements for Colombian coffee

• Place names
  • Valdés (Asturias), a Spanish municipality in the province of Asturias, birthplace of the name.
  • Valdez, Alaska, seaport city in Alaska
  • Valdez oil terminal, oil port in Valdez, Alaska, at the southern end of the Alaska Pipeline
  • Valdez, California, in Yolo County
  • Valdez, Esmeraldas, Ecuador
  • Valdez, Florida, a populated place in Volusia County, Florida
  • Valdes Island, one of the Gulf Islands located in the Strait of Georgia, British Columbia, Canada
  • Valdes Peninsula, peninsula along the Atlantic coast of Argentina

• Oil tanker
  • Exxon Valdez, oil tanker involved in an oil spill in Alaska in 1989
  • Survivors of the Valdez Oil Spill, organization that claims to represent the victims of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill

• Other
  • Valdez (gymnastics), a back walkover that begins in a sitting position
  • Valdez Blockade, a protest by Alaskan fishermen in 1993

Coordinates: 61°07′23″N 146°18′18″W / 61.123°N 146.305°W / 61.123; -146.305

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Hector Uribe (born January 17, 1946 in Brownsville, Texas) is a former Democratic member of the Texas Senate, District 27 and a past candidate for Texas Land Commissioner.

As a senator, he worked to pass the Texas Enterprise Zone Act, which is designed to create new jobs in economically impacted areas, and the Protective Services for the Elderly Act, which guards against abuse of senior citizens. He also worked to establish the University of Texas–Pan American.^[1] He served in the Texas House of Representatives from Brownsville from 1978 to 1990.

Uribe, a narrow winner in the March 2, 2010, Democratic primary for land commissioner, faced the incumbent Republican Jerry E. Patterson in the November 2, 2010 general election but lost with 35 percent of the ballots cast.

References[link]

www.gordos.com

External links[link]

• Hector Uribe for Land Commissioner