Dallas County Sheriff Marian Brown to face predecessor Lupe Valdez, who ran for governor in 2018, in runoff election

(The Texas Tribune) – Lupe Valdez, the Democratic nominee for governor in 2018, is heading to a runoff election against incumbent Dallas County Sheriff Marian Brown. Brown led the Democratic ticket with 42% of votes and Valdez followed with 38%, according to unofficial results. Three other Democratic contenders – retired Dallas County Constable Roy Williams Jr., police training instructor Sam Mohamed and former federal correctional officer Rodney Thomas were also on the Democratic ticket but together won less than 20% of votes. With no Republican challengers on the ballot, the winner of the May 28 runoff will run unopposed in the November general election. Related Stories That wasn’t the case in 2004, when Valdez was first elected Dallas County’s sheriff, narrowly beating a Republican incumbent. She was the first Latina in the role and one of few openly lesbian officeholders in Texas. During her tenure, Valdez oversaw one of the nation’s largest county jail systems, which struggled with inadequate inmate health care, poor ventilation and insufficient staff training. The U.S. Justice Department sued Valdez and the county, arguing that their poor facilities violated inmates’ constitutional rights. They dropped their suit in 2011, after the jail finally passed a state inspection...