Jefferson Co. elects state's first black female sheriff

Zena Stephens, Democratic candidate for Jefferson County Sheriff, is swarmed by supporters offering hugs of congratulations and celebrating her win over Republican Ray Beck as she and supporters gather for an election result party at Suga's in Beaumont Tuesday. Photo taken Tuesday, November 8, 2016 Kim Brent/The Enterprise less Zena Stephens, Democratic candidate for Jefferson County Sheriff, is swarmed by supporters offering hugs of congratulations and celebrating her win over Republican Ray Beck as she and supporters gather for an ... more Photo: Kim Brent Photo: Kim Brent Image 1 of / 80 Caption Close Jefferson Co. elects state's first black female sheriff 1 / 80 Back to Gallery

Zena Stephens on Tuesday became Texas's first black female sheriff, by narrowly turning back the county's strongest Republican challenger ever in Ray Beck.

The race was close throughout the night, with Stephens leading early, boosted by leads in Port Arthur and Beaumont's northern and southern precincts. She finished with 51.4 percent of the vote.

Beck took the lead late in the night with strong support in Beaumont's West End, the county's western precincts and in Mid-County, before Stephens closed and then expanded the gap in the final four precincts.

Stephens ultimately won by 2,431 votes out of a total 86,701 ballots, completing a Democratic sweep of the county's three competitive local races.

The current police chief at Prairie View A&M University and former Sheriff's Office chief deputy will replace Mitch Woods, who is retiring after 20 years.

According to the Sheriff's Association of Texas, which tracks the history of the office, Stephens is the first black woman elected sheriff in the state.

"I think it is important, because I never saw anybody who looked like me in this role, or as a police chief, when I was growing up," said Stephens. "And so the idea, not just for girls but for any minority, that you can obtain these jobs at this level, I think that's important. And it's important for these jobs in law enforcement and any job to reflect the community they serve."

Stephens beat former constable Joe "QB" Stevenson and Woods' assistant chief deputy Rod Carroll in the Democratic primary and run-off elections this spring.

She made national headlines when 19-year-old Adam Carver of Vidor allegedly fired a shot at her campaign headquarters the night before the March primary while shouting a racial slur. Carver was indicted in March on a charge of deadly conduct and is scheduled for his next hearing on Nov. 28.

With a $13.1 million dollar budget and more than 400 employees, the sheriff's office is the county's largest department. The sheriff also oversees the jail and its $27.6 million budget. Those budgets combined make up about one-third of the county's general fund budget.

Stephens said that one of her first priorities after taking office will be to address concerns within the department.

"Generally, the people who work there are nervous anytime there's a changing of the guard," she said. "I want to get in there and make people feel normal again, and evaluate how we move forward."

Replacing Woods, who has served since 1996 "is going to be a little difficult," she said. "Anytime you institute change, there may be some opposition to that, but I understand that, and I don't plan to get in there and make any sweeping changes."

She said she plans to evaluate training and operations at the county jail, as well as consider recommendations from President Obama's Task Force on 21st Century Policing report, which was released in May.

The narrow victory for the Democrats came as a result of a large Republican turnout, with Beck getting more than 42,135 votes to Stephens' 44,566.

Jefferson County GOP Chair Garrett Peel said "we've never had such great voter turnout," and noted the 24,598 straight-ticket votes for the party, an increase from both 2012 and 2008.

Jefferson County Democratic Party Chair Cade Bernsen was thrilled by the night's sweep for his party. "Tonight, we made history in Texas," he said.

LTeitz@BeaumontEnterprise.comTwitter.com/LizTeitz