HAYS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) – Early voting for the March 5 primary elections begins Tuesday. That includes the race for the Democratic primary for the Hays County Sheriff's Office.
Two candidates are vying for the Democrat spot on the ballot this fall: Daniel Law and Alex Villalobos. Among other things, the position oversees the county jails, pursues fugitives and oversees Hays County Sheriff’s Office personnel.
Whoever is successful in securing enough votes in the March 5 primary will face Anthony Hippolito, the only Republican running to be the Hays County Sheriff. Republican Incumbent Gary Cutler, who has served in the role since 2010, is not running for reelection.
Both candidates running to become the “peacekeeper” of Hays County come to the race with decades of experience.
Law served as Caldwell County’s Hays County Sherriff for 20 years before coming to Hays County three years ago, he said.
“I don't have to learn how to do [the job]. I know all the context of where to find the answers and where to get assistance as need be,” he said. “I will be fair, I will be firm. But I'm also empathetic in all the things that I deal with and give everybody an opportunity to get themselves out of trouble.”
Law said the biggest issues currently facing Hays County are staffing and outsourcing inmates to other jails.
“[The Sheriff’s Office] need some recruitment and attention to retention so that we can get at the outsourced inmates that are all over the state of Texas right now,” he said.
“$71 million has been spent outsourcing those inmates all across the state,” Law said. “The first issue [if I win] would be to get [staffing] numbers back to full strength as quickly as possible, then work on getting by and building a base so we have a solid base to go from, and immediately bringing those inmates back.”
“Once that happens, I would reenter all of the programs that I was so successful with in Caldwell County,” Law continued.
Villalobos currently works as Hays County’s Chief of Staff. Before that, he worked with the Texas State University’s Police Department for a decade and was a Kyle city council member. He ran against current Hays County Sheriff Gary Cutler in 2020 and lost by a thin margin.
“I have been serving and protecting people in this community,” Villalobos said. “I know how to represent Hays County because I've been here, I've done the work here. I've been on the front lines here.”
“Being a student of the criminal justice system my entire career has put me and placed me as the best option for this position,” he continued.
Villalobos cited staffing, outsourcing inmates and modernizing the office as issues he plans to address if he gets the job.
“You can't take care of other people until you take care of yourself,” he said. “Our Sheriff's Department does a lot – they're out in the front lines a lot, they are the face of this of this county,” Villalobos continued. “One of my biggest jobs is to advocate for better benefits and better pay.”
“I'm the only candidate that's had the privilege and the honor to work to upgrade and improve and modernize our criminal justice system in many different ways,” Villalobos said.
