Val Demings

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Val Demings
US Rep Val Demings.jpg
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Florida's 10th district
Assumed office
January 3, 2017
Preceded by Daniel Webster
Personal details
Born Valdez Venita Butler
(1957-03-12) March 12, 1957 (age 68)
Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Jerry Demings
Children 3
Alma mater Florida State University
Occupation Police officer
Website House website

Valdez Venita "Val" Demings (née Butler; March 12, 1957) is an American law enforcement officer and politician who serves as the member of the United States House of Representatives from Florida's 10th congressional district. She served as Chief of the Orlando Police Department, the first woman to hold the position. She was the Democratic nominee in both 2012 and 2016 to represent Florida's 10th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives, the latter of which Demings won.[1]

Early life

Valdez Venita Butler was born on March 12, 1957,[2] one of seven children born to a poor family; her father worked in orange groves, while her mother was a housekeeper. They lived in Mandarin, a neighborhood in Jacksonville, Florida. She attended segregated schools in the 1960s, graduating from Wolfson High School in the 1970s.[3]

Her desire for a career in law enforcement came when Demings served in the "school patrol" at Dupont Junior High School. She attended Florida State University, graduating with a degree in criminology in 1979.[3]

Career

After graduating from college, Demings worked as a social worker in Jacksonville for 18 months.[3][4] In 1983, she applied for a job with the Orlando Police Department (OPD), and she began with the department on patrol on Orlando's west side.[3]

Demings was appointed as Chief of the OPD in December 2007, becoming the first woman to lead the department.[5] As Chief, she was credited with reducing violent crime in Orlando. She retired from the position effective June 1, 2011, after serving with the OPD for 27 years.[6]

Political career

2012 U.S. House campaign

Demings was the Democratic Party nominee for the United States House of Representatives in Florida's 10th congressional district in the 2012 elections.[7] She faced freshman Republican Daniel Webster in a district that had been made slightly more Republican than its predecessor. Demings narrowly lost, taking 48 percent of the vote to Webster's 51 percent.[8]

Aborted run for Orange County Mayor

Democrats attempted to recruit Demings to run against Webster again in 2014.[9] After considering her options, she decided to run for Mayor of Orange County, Florida, against Teresa Jacobs, instead.[10] Demings dropped out of the mayoral race on May 20, 2014.[11]

2016 U.S. House campaign

Demings ran again for the 10th district seat after a court-ordered redistricting made the 10th significantly more Democratic ahead of the 2016 elections.[12] She won the Democratic Party nomination on August 30,[13] and won the general election with 65% of the vote.[14]

U.S. House of Representatives

Tenure

Rep. Demings was sworn in on January 3, 2017. She is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus[15] and the Congressional Black Caucus.

Committee assignments

Personal

Her husband, Jerry Demings, is the Orange County Sheriff.[6] Previously, he served as the Chief of the OPD, the first African American to do so, from 1999 through 2002.[3][4] The two met while on patrol in the OPD; they married in 1988 and have three children.[3]

See also

References

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External links

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Florida's 10th congressional district
January 3, 2017 – present		 Incumbent
United States order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by Seniority in the U.S. House of Representatives
389th		 Succeeded by
Neal Dunn
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