Alex Villalobos vies for county sheriff

DRIFTWOOD — It was standing-room only at Salt Lick BBQ in Driftwood on the evening of Jan. 26, when Alex Villalobos formally announced his candidacy for Hays County Sheriff.

More than 300 people gathered to hear Villalobos announce his candidacy for the top law enforcement position in the county. With more than 20 years of experience in private and public law enforcement, he is vying once again for the position following his narrow defeat against current Sheriff Gary Cutler.

“I ran against Cutler at the time and lost 49 to 51 [percent], which is a close race. With my reform mind and coming back, I knew that I would run again,” Villalobos said. “[Running for sheriff was] a litmus test that showed me that Hays County is ready for change. So, again, I bided my time. The opportunity is coming back around again. Now that I’m back and running again, I know that if I balance my campaign a little bit better than I did the last time, [I'll be successful].”

A democrat, the candidate is currently the chief of staff for Hays County, former lieutenant and chief of staff at the Texas State University Police Department and former Hays County reserve deputy constable.

Villalobos has held the position of Hays County chief of staff twice. He resigned the first time amid allegations of indiscretions such as falsifying time sheets and other negligent behavior, as previously reported by News-Dispatch.

The candidate, however, denies those allegations, citing his current position of Hays County chief of staff.

“I’m back in that position because those indiscretions are untrue and they would not have hired me if they were. I resigned because there was an opportunity elsewhere,” Villalobos said, explaining that the court swung right around the time of his resignation and voted to defund the position. “I said, ‘If they’re going to do that, I’ll start looking.’ And I resigned because it was inevitable. But all of the slinging of mud occurred to character assassinate. Again, if those things were true, I would not have been able to have been hired back.”

Villalobos is running on a platform of reform and community-minded policing.

“I am reform-minded. The reforms that I have that I believe I’ve been pushing have always been a community policing style of law enforcement, which has been lacking in Hays County,” the candidate said. “I’m reform-minded and someone who’s going to look at how we best make this agency more efficient — utilizing those tax dollars appropriately … We’re a growing county. We’re no longer a rural county. We are now an urban county. We need someone who has the quality of being a CEO — someone who understands budget, public policy and how to marry those together that best represents the department, but at the same time, advocates for the community. I know how to do that, I have that experience and I hope to put that together and become the first Latino sheriff and the next sheriff of this county.”

Villalobos said there are plans in the works for two additional campaign and voter registration events in the near future to be announced.

The election of Hays County Sheriff will take place on Nov. 5, 2024.