Ep. 46: The first Latina to be elected Sheriff, Lupe Valdez says the World is Better when Women Run for Office...and Win

C2CEO Career-Comeback Stories

Lupe Valdez became the first Latina Sheriff in the United States, and one of the first LGBTQ women to hold such a role in 2004. As Sheriff of Dallas County, Lupe managed the seventh-largest Sheriff's department in the country for 13 years. Now she's running again for the seat she left in 2018 when she left to run for Governor of Texas.
Cary Broussard interviews Lupe Valdez about why she wants to be Sheriff of Dallas County again and why the role of Sheriff is important in every community. Cary asks Lupe why it's important for women to run for office, what obstacles women face and how they can succeed.
There is a brief introduction from actor John Leguizamo who describes how Lupe grew up poor with parents who were migrant workers, how her teacher inspired her and Lupe worked her way through college and graduate school, eventually joining the Army, rising to rank of Captain.
Lupe Valdez went on to a 30-year career as a federal agent for US Customs and Border Protection and then the Department of Homeland Security, focusing on fraud and drug cases. FInally, she made history as the first openly LGBTQ Latina sheriff in the nation. During her tenure as Sheriff, Valdez addressed understaffing, overpopulation, and unsanitary conditions in the county jail and improved care for mentally ill inmates.