Changes

|term_start=January 1, 2007

|term_start=January 1, 2007

| term_end=December 31, 2014

| term_end=December 31, 2014

|preceded-Louis H. Bruni

|preceded-Louis Henry Bruni

|succeeded=Tano Tijerina

|succeeded=[[Tano Tijerina]]

|birth_date=Augut 8, 1953

|birth_date=Augut 8, 1953

|birth_place=[[Laredo]], Texas

|birth_place=[[Laredo]], Texas

|party=[[Democratic Party|Democrat]]

|party=[[Democratic Party|Democrat]]

|religion=[[Roman Catholic]]

|religion=[[Roman Catholic]]

|alma_mater=Martin High School<br>Laredo Junior College

|alma_mater=Martin High School<br>Laredo Junior College}}

 

}}

'''Danny Valdez''' (born August 8, 1953) is the former county judge for Webb County, [[Texas]]. He is the 22nd person to have held the elected office since Webb County was established in the southern part of the state in 1848. He served four years with the [[United States Navy]] and twenty-four years as a justice of the peace before becoming county judge in 2007.[1]

'''Danny Valdez''' (born August 8, 1953) is the former county judge for Webb County, [[Texas]]. He is the 22nd person to have held the elected office since Webb County was established in the southern part of the state in 1848. He served four years with the [[United States Navy]] and twenty-four years as a justice of the peace before becoming county judge in 2007.[1]

He won [[Democratic Party]] re-nomination in the runoff [[primary]] held on April 13, 2010, by defeating his eventual successor in the office, Laredo businessman and former professional [[baseball]] player Tano Tijerina. In the primary election held on March 2, Valdez led Tijerina by a narrow margin. Two other candidates trailed, former District Court Judge Andres Ramos and former Webb County Judge Louis H. Bruni, Valdez's predecessor in the office.

He won [[Democratic Party]] re-nomination in the runoff [[primary]] held on April 13, 2010, by defeating his eventual successor in the office, Laredo businessman and former professional [[baseball]] player [[Tano Tijerina]]. In the primary election held on March 2, Valdez led Tijerina by a narrow margin. Two other candidates trailed, former District Court Judge Andres Ramos and former Webb County Judge Louis H. Bruni, Valdez's predecessor in the office.

==Background==

==Background==

Valdez was born the second child of Eliseo and Lucinda Valdez and was reared in the ''Canta Rana'' neighborhood in Laredo's west side. He attended Farias Elementary School, Christen Middle School, Martin High School, and the former Laredo Junior College, which was renamed in 1993 as Laredo Community College. He worked as a Webb County personal recognizance bond officer before his election as a JP in 1982. His son, born in 1988, is also named Danny Valdez.

Valdez was born the second child of Eliseo and Lucinda Valdez and was reared in the ''Canta Rana'' neighborhood in Laredo's west side. He attended Farias Elementary School, Christen Middle School, Martin High School, and the former Laredo Junior College, which was renamed in 1993 as Laredo Community College and is now known as Laredo College. He worked as a Webb County personal recognizance bond officer before his election as a JP in 1982. His son, born in 1988, is also named Danny Valdez.

==Justice of the peace==

==Justice of the peace==

==Election as county judge==

==Election as county judge==

Not wanting to lose his JP position, Valdez did not declare his candidacy for county judge until January 1, 2006, giving him a little more than three months before the pivotal Democratic primary. He faced the incumbent county judge, Louis H. Bruni, and a multi-term county commissioner, Judith Gutierrez. Valdez sailed to victory with 37 percent of the vote in the initial primary and 62 percent of the vote in the runoff against millionaire businessman Carlos Y. Benavides, III. Bruni ran fourth, failed to garner a runoff berth, and later switched to [[Republican Party|Republican]] affiliation and lost a race for the Texas State Senate in 2008 against Democrat Judith Pappas Zaffirini. [2] There were no second-party challengers. ''The Texas Observer,'' an [[Austin]]-based political magazine, attributed Valdez's win to his humble background, his tireless grassroots campaigning and his image as an honest, decent citizen.[3] Louis Bruni returned to the Democratic Party to challenge Valdez on March 2. Judith Gutierrez, meanwhile, sought unsuccessfully to return to her previous county commissioner seat in the April 13 runoff but was defeated by the incumbent commissioner, Rosaura Tijerina, the aunt by marriage of Tano Tijerina.

Not wanting to lose his JP position, Valdez did not declare his candidacy for county judge until January 1, 2006, giving him a little more than three months before the pivotal Democratic primary. He faced the incumbent county judge, Louis Henry Bruni, and a multi-term county commissioner, Judith Gutierrez. Valdez sailed to victory with 37 percent of the vote in the initial primary and 62 percent of the vote in the runoff against millionaire businessman Carlos Y. Benavides, III. Bruni ran fourth, failed to garner a runoff berth, and later switched to [[Republican Party|Republican]] affiliation and lost a race for the Texas State Senate in 2008 against Democrat Judith Pappas Zaffirini. [2] There were no second-party challengers. ''The Texas Observer,'' an [[Austin]]-based political magazine, attributed Valdez's win to his humble background, his tireless grassroots campaigning and his image as an honest, decent citizen.[3] Louis Bruni returned to the Democratic Party to challenge Valdez on March 2. Judith Gutierrez, meanwhile, sought unsuccessfully to return to her previous county commissioner seat in the April 13 runoff but was defeated by the incumbent commissioner, Rosaura Tijerina, the aunt by marriage of Tano Tijerina.

==Candidacy for state representative==

==Candidacy for state representative==

Valdez never obtained ballot access; the Texas Secretary of State website lists Tracy King as unopposed for both the party's nomination and the general election as well.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://webservices.sos.state.tx.us/candidate-filing/cf-report.aspx|title=2018 March Primary Election Candidate Filings by County|publisher=Texas Secretary of State|accessdate=February 7, 2018}}</ref>

Valdez never obtained ballot access; the Texas Secretary of State website lists Tracy King as unopposed for both the party's nomination and the general election as well.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://webservices.sos.state.tx.us/candidate-filing/cf-report.aspx|title=2018 March Primary Election Candidate Filings by County|publisher=Texas Secretary of State|accessdate=February 7, 2018}}</ref>

Meanwhile, Valdez's former opponent for county judge, Tano Tijerina, won re-nomination to a second term in the Democratic primary held on March 6, 2018. Tijerina turned back the challenge of Webb County Assessor-Collector Patricia A. Barrera.

Meanwhile, Valdez's former opponent for county judge, Tano Tijerina, won re-nomination to a second term in the Democratic primary held on March 6, 2018. Tijerina turned back the challenge of Webb County Assessor-Collector Patricia A. Barrera and went on in November to defeat Republican Alfonso Ignacio "Poncho" Casso, a former member of the city council who advocated reducing property taxes.

==References==

==References==