As his campaign for Dallas County Republican Party chair moves forward, Lt. Col. Allen West is highlighting the pervasive issue of sex trafficking in Dallas, arguing that Republicans must take control of local offices to ensure crimes are prosecuted.
West, a former chair of the Republican Party of Texas, announced his bid for party chair of Dallas County about two months ago. In a previous interview with The Dallas Express, he asserted that the party needs to do a better job of getting Republicans elected in the Dallas area.
Currently, the Dallas County sheriff, district attorney, county judge, and every member of the commissioners court are Democrats.
West spoke with DX again on Saturday following a campaign event at Fair Park Bible Fellowship church in East Dallas, during which he pitched his leadership to local Republicans and asserted that he would prioritize effective communication within the Dallas County Republican Party and focus on raising up strong candidates to serve in elected office locally.
The motto of West’s campaign has been, “Fight Local … Win National.” He said “job number one” of the party chair should be to find and support Republican candidates to serve in local office.
“It’s not about me,” he told DX. “I’m supposed to be out there training gladiators so [Republican voters] can have the best quality candidate they can select from. … This is about the future. This is about setting us up for success.”
West noted that “the last time Republicans out-voted Democrats in Dallas County in the presidential election cycle was 2004.”
“We cannot continue down this path,” he said. “The Democrats started flipping Dallas County in 2006. Now, 16 years later in 2022, [there are] no elected Republicans in Dallas County leadership. I don’t think it’ll take 16 years, but we have to at least start. I believe we can turn this thing around in the next four to eight years.”
He argued that it was important for Dallas County to have Republican leadership because there are critical issues in the county that need to be addressed, such as public safety and sex trafficking.
“The number one thing about local governance is safety and security. And that’s not happening here,” he said, referring to District Attorney John Creuzot’s experimental policy of not prosecuting thefts valued at less than $750. The district attorney rescinded the policy after getting pushback from constituents.
West also noted that Dallas is considered one of the top cities in the United States when it comes to sex trafficking incidents. He accused Creuzot of failing to prosecute sex trafficking crimes.
For example, Creuzot has not prosecuted a key suspect in the case of a local girl who was trafficked at the age of 15, as covered by DX.
“That’s appalling to people,” West said, also noting the connection between human trafficking and unlawful migration at the southern border.
He told DX that elected officials, including county commissioners and the county sheriff, must make it a priority to combat human trafficking in Dallas.
“The sheriff [must] start doing something about it,” he said. “The sheriff is supposed to be a constitutional officer, which means adhering to the rule of law. And we don’t have that.”
“We have to start developing candidates to go out there and run for those … positions. But as a county commissioner, you have to start saying this is a concern,” he continued, adding that he thinks this should not be a partisan issue. “We should not want to be a haven for sex trafficking and cartel activity.”
As DX previously reported, Dallas saw a surge in documented sex trafficking incidents last year, with the majority of victims comprising women and girls of color. Council Member Omar Narvaez’s District 6 has typically served as ground zero for prostitution-related criminal offenses in Dallas proper, accounting for the majority of criminal offenses in the city related to the commercial sex trade at any given point in time.
West implored Republicans to “get engaged” to make a change in Dallas.
“Learn what’s happening in your community. That’s why the theme is ‘Fight Local and Win National,'” he said.
“Everyone can tell you Donald Trump is running for president,” he continued. “But can you tell me who your city council member is? Can you tell me who your school board member is? Can you tell me who your State Board of Education representative is? Can you tell me who your county commissioner is? Can you tell me who the sheriff is or who the district attorney is?”
“As Tip O’Neill once said … ‘all politics is local.’ The Republican Party has failed to pay attention to the local level of politics,” he said.
West is running against Dallas County GOP chair Jennifer Stoddard-Hajdu. In a previous interview with DX, Stoddard-Hajdu maintained that the local party has thrived under her leadership, citing a doubling in the amount of party precinct chairs.