Sheriff Richard Wiles Announces Bid For Re-Election

Dozens of family members, friends and supporters of Sheriff Richard Wiles came together for a dual celebration at Azulejo’s restaurant inside the Camino Real Hotel in downtown El Paso Thursday evening. They’re celebrating Wiles’ run for re-election and his birthday.

“I’m actually announcing early because I figured that would be a good way to celebrate my 50th birthday by announcing my re-election campaign for county sheriff,” said Wiles.

Wiles won the office in 2008, beating out a former El Paso police chief in the primary election, and in a landslide in the general election.

The sheriff told ABC-7 he has been honored to serve as the “top cop” in the county, and he’s proud of the office and would like to continue his work. One of the accomplishments he lists is his ability to save the county taxpayer money in a time of a budget crisis.

“We’ve worked on some consolidation efforts with the police department, and we’ve done some good work there on our homeland security, our 911 dispatchers,” Wiles said, adding that his office and the El Paso Police Department also work together on sexual offender registration and warrant services. “We’ve had a lot of accomplishments.”

El Paso was named the safest city of its size in the nation in 2010 — a distinction Sheriff Wiles also hopes voters remember as they head to the polls next year.

“It’s really a concerted effort with the police and sheriff and all the federal law enforcement agencies that we have here, the state agencies and mainly with the citizens we work with,” said Wiles. “And that’s really how we do it.”

Texas’ primary election is March 6, 2012. Election day is Nov. 6, 2012.