(Updated at 12:30 p.m.) A law clerk and former D.C. police officer who also coaches freshman football at Herndon High School has launched a primary challenge against Fairfax County Sheriff Stacey Kincaid.
Kelvin Garcia announced yesterday (Wednesday) that he will campaign for the Democratic nomination, positioning himself as a more progressive alternative to Kincaid.
Kincaid confirmed to FFXnow in December that she will seek reelection. She became the county’s first female sheriff when she initially took office after winning a special election in 2013.
“To me, there are two sides right now to the Democratic Party on the ballot this year,” Garcia said, as reported by the Washington Post. “There’s the old-world moderate and the progressive who wants to build a future for everyone.”
In addition to serving as an assistant freshman football coach for the Herndon Hornets, Garcia works as a law clerk for the firm Liberty Legal LC after spending a decade as a D.C. police officer from 2008 to 2019, according to his LinkedIn page.
According to the Post, Garcia decided to campaign for sheriff based on concerns about Kincaid’s management of the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center, stating that he would make the first 30 minutes of inmates’ phone calls to family members free and house individuals based on their gender identity rather than sex.
The sheriff’s office currently classifies inmates based on their genitals.
A transgender woman sued the sheriff’s office in November 2020, alleging that she experienced discrimination and harassment while incarcerated at the county jail. A federal appeals court panel ruled in August that gender dysphoria is a condition protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act, allowing the lawsuit to continue.
In a press release issued today (Thursday), Garcia said the county needs to “invest in people as they leave our facilities to break the revolving door that brings them right back” into the criminal justice system.
“Our system has let too many people fall through the cracks for far too long, and these problems start at the top,” Garcia said. “It’s time for a fresh perspective in Fairfax County — a perspective that will support every member of our community and leave no one behind. I’ll be honored to lead that effort.”
The primary election will be held on June 20, with general elections on Nov. 7.
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