The unlikely sheriff in Bush's backyard: a Hispanic lesbian Democrat

Gary Younge in New York
Thursday November 11, 2004
The Guardian

In a week that saw the Democrats trounced, anti-gay amendments passed across the country and the return of Texas's adopted son to the White House, there was one striking anomaly. An openly lesbian, Hispanic Democrat, has been elected sheriff in Dallas - the president's backyard.

In an upset brought about by local scandal, demographic evolution and personal chutzpah, Lupe Valdez, the daughter of a Mexican immigrant farm worker, became the first ever Democrat and woman to head the county's sole law enforcement office, which includes Texas' second largest city.

"Since I won, every time I go to a Democratic meeting, they go crazy," Ms Valdez, 57, told the New York Times.

Despite the fact that she had little in the way of money and a campaign led by novices, Ms Valdez won comfortably.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1348104,00.html