Clay Jenkins
{{Short description|American lawyer}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = Clay Jenkins
|image = Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, FEMA - 45987 - 01-24-2011.jpg
|office = County Judge of Dallas County
|term_start = January 1, 2011
|term_end =
|predecessor = Jim Foster
|successor =
|birth_name = Clay Lewis Jenkins
|birth_date = {{birth year and age|1964}}
|birth_place = Dallas, Texas, U.S.
|death_date =
|death_place =
|party = Democratic
|education = Baylor University (BA, JD)
}}
Clay Lewis Jenkins (born 1964){{cite news |title=After well-funded campaign nearly won him nomination, Clay Jenkins says he'll unite Dallas County |url=https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2010/03/28/after-well-funded-campaign-nearly-won-him-nomination-clay-jenkins-says-he-ll-unite-dallas-county/ |accessdate=March 28, 2020 |work=The Dallas Morning News |date=March 28, 2010 |language=en}} is an American lawyer and politician. In 2011, he began serving as county judge for Dallas County, Texas.
Early life and education
Jenkins was born in the Oak Cliff neighborhood of Dallas, Texas to JoAnn and Alvah Clayburn Lewis Jr.{{cite web |title=Accusations fly as Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins faces lively challenge from a newcomer |url=https://www.dallasnews.com/news/elections/2022/10/07/accusations-fly-as-dallas-county-judge-clay-jenkins-faces-lively-challenge-from-a-newcomer/ |website=Dallas News |language=en |date=7 October 2022}} His mother was an active member of the Texas Democratic Party and had served as a state delegate from 1978.{{cite news |last1=Krause |first1=Kevin |title=Dallas County commissioners honor Clay Jenkins' mom |url=https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2012/05/15/dallas-county-commissioners-honor-clay-jenkins-mom/ |accessdate=March 22, 2020 |work=The Dallas Morning News |date=May 15, 2012 |language=en}}
After graduating from Waxahachie High School, Jenkins enrolled at Baylor University.{{cite web |last1=Simek |first1=Peter |title=Who Is Clay Jenkins? |url=https://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/2014/october/who-is-dallas-county-judge-clay-jenkins/ |website=D Magazine |accessdate=March 22, 2020 |language=en}} While at Baylor University, Jenkins was arrested twice, once for reckless driving, and a second time for trespassing into a women's dorm.{{cite web |last1=Simek |first1=Peter |title=Who Is Clay Jenkins? |url=https://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/2014/october/who-is-dallas-county-judge-clay-jenkins/ |website=D Magazine |accessdate=March 22, 2020 |language=en}}https://www.texastribune.org/2022/10/12/clay-jenkins-blackface-dallas/ {{Bare URL inline|date=August 2024}} After receiving his undergraduate degree, Jenkins attended Baylor Law School and graduated with a Juris Doctor degree.
Career
In March 2010, Jenkins defeated incumbent Jim Foster in the Democratic Party primary election for Dallas County Judge.{{cite news |title=Democratic candidates for Dallas County judge offer their views on leadership |url=https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2010/02/13/democratic-candidates-for-dallas-county-judge-offer-their-views-on-leadership/ |accessdate=March 22, 2010 |work=The Dallas Morning News |date=February 13, 2010 |language=en}} In the November general election of the same year, Jenkins defeated Republican candidate Wade Emmert to become the county judge.{{cite news |last1=Ramshaw |first1=Emily |last2=Stiles |first2=Matt |title=D is for Democratic |url=https://www.texastribune.org/2010/12/22/texas-gets-increasingly-red-dallas-goes-blue/ |accessdate=March 22, 2020 |work=The Texas Tribune |date=December 22, 2010 |language=en}}
When Dallas County was hit by an outbreak of West Nile virus in 2012, Jenkins declared a state of emergency for the county and led efforts to spray for mosquitoes.{{cite news |last1=Kofler |first1=Shelley |last2=Austin |first2=BJ |title=Update: Dallas Mayor Supports Plan For Aerial Mosquito Spraying |url=https://www.keranews.org/post/update-dallas-mayor-supports-plan-aerial-mosquito-spraying |accessdate=March 23, 2020 |publisher=KERA |date=August 10, 2012 |language=en}}
In 2014, amid a child migrant crisis, Jenkins offered to house as many as two thousand immigrant children who cross the Mexico–United States border in Dallas County.{{cite news |title=Clay Jenkins wants Dallas County to house child immigrants |url=https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2014/06/29/clay-jenkins-wants-dallas-county-to-house-child-immigrants/ |accessdate=March 25, 2020 |work=The Dallas Morning News |date=June 29, 2014 |language=en}} The offer served as a catalyst for a meeting between President Barack Obama and Texas Governor Rick Perry concerning immigration and border security.{{cite news |title=In Dallas, Obama, Perry, local officials discuss influx at border |url=https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2014/07/10/in-dallas-obama-perry-local-officials-discuss-influx-at-border/ |accessdate=March 25, 2020 |work=The Dallas Morning News |date=July 10, 2014 |language=en}}{{cite news |last1=Raphael |first1=T. J. |title=Why Rick Perry is sending the National Guard to the Texas border |url=https://www.pri.org/stories/2014-07-23/why-rick-perry-sending-national-guard-texas-border |accessdate=March 25, 2020 |work=Public Radio International |date=July 23, 2014 |language=en}}
Later that year, when Dallas County became the first county in the United States to have a confirmed Ebola virus case, Jenkins led the local response.{{cite magazine |last1=Nicks |first1=Denver |title=This Texas Judge Is Fighting Fear and Ebola in Dallas |url=https://time.com/3474650/ebola-dallas-judge-jenkins/ |accessdate=March 25, 2020 |magazine=Time |date=October 6, 2014 |language=en}}{{cite magazine |last1=Burrough |first1=Bryan |title=Ebola in the U.S.: How Dallas Rallied to Prevent an Epidemic |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/02/ebola-us-dallas-epidemic |magazine=Vanity Fair |accessdate=March 23, 2020 |language=en}} During the Ebola crisis, Jenkins garnered publicity when he entered the home of Thomas Eric Duncan without personal protective equipment and personally helped Duncan's family move into temporary housing while their house was being decontaminated.{{cite news |last1=Fernandez |first1=Manny |title=Dallas Official Confronts City's Fear of Ebola in Person |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/11/us/ebola-dallas-clay-jenkins.html |accessdate=March 23, 2014 |work=The New York Times |date=October 10, 2014}} Jenkins' widely publicized act was criticized by his political opponents, but won national praise from health officials for destigmatizing the disease by showing that the disease cannot be transmitted between asymptomatic individuals.{{cite news |title=Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins' high profile attracts praise, scorn |url=https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2014/10/10/dallas-county-judge-clay-jenkins-high-profile-attracts-praise-scorn/ |accessdate=March 23, 2020 |work=The Dallas Morning News |date=October 10, 2014 |language=en}}
References
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External links
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{{Authority control}}
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Category:20th-century American lawyers
Category:21st-century American judges
Category:21st-century American lawyers
Category:Baylor Law School alumni
Category:County judges in Texas