The commander of the Southeastern District, home to the remaining white ethnic neighborhoods in Baltimore, is a political survivor and bureaucratic player of the first order. Backed by Andrew Krawcyzk, the politically influential developer who has a strangehold on the city's valuable waterfront real estate, and an early backer of Councilman Carcetti's run for mayor, Valchek is never above a political maneuver. When his son-in-law Prez needed a new assignment and a fresh start, Valchek palmed him off on the Barksdale unit Daniels organized. And when union leader Frank Sobotka clashed with Valchek over a petty church matter, Valchek ordered an investigation into the longshoreman to bring him down. While not the most enlightened or competent commander in the department, Valchek's connection to the city's white voting block ensures that his voice will always be heard.