The four Tarrant County constable runoff races on Tuesday's ballot feature eight candidates from backgrounds that range from a former Haltom City councilman to an officer with the Methodist Health System Police Department.
Voters will settle races in Precincts 1, 3, 6 and 8.Constables' offices in Texas serve legal documents in eviction, child custody, child support, truancy and similar cases.One of the most heated and bitter constable races is in Precinct 3 in Northeast Tarrant County where Deputy Constable Darrell Huffman is seeking to take over the office from his retiring boss. Godley police Lt. Jason McCaffity got the most votes in May with 43 percent, and Huffman got 38 percent.McCaffity's critics have questioned his professional conduct, noting that the 37-year-old Bedford native has a history of filing lawsuits against the Hurst-Euless-Bedford school district, Fort Worth, Dallas County and Grand Prairie. All have been dismissed.And last year, McCaffity was fired from the Kennedale Police Department for disregarding a directive from the police chief on patrol units being in the city at all times. McCaffity has said the firing was the result of small-town politics."I don't know how those lawsuits relate to my conduct for this office," McCaffity said. "Previous employers have done background checks and I was hired for those positions."For months, Huffman's critics have questioned how much law enforcement experience he had when he was hired in 2008. The requirement is five years, and Huffman said officials were aware that he was a few months short of that requirement when he was hired.Huffman said voter turnout will be one of the keys to the runoff."This is the fourth election since May," Huffman said. "We've had an e-mail project to get those voters out for Tuesday."In Precinct 1, Lt. Tommie Hathorn of the Tarrant County Sheriff's Department and former Haltom City Councilman Dale Cark face each other in the runoff. Clark garnered 46 percent of the votes in May compared with 32 percent for Hathorn.Law enforcement experience is a key to the election, the candidates say. Clark's resume says he has 32 years of experience in the Arlington Police Department and the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport Department of Public Safety. Hathorn has said he also has 32 years of experience, all with Tarrant County.Hathorn said he's been out at polling places in recent days, attempting to meet more voters."If voters do their research, they will find out that I have the experience for this position," Hathorn said.Clark said he has been on the campaign trail the last few days.The two other constable runoff races could come down to the wire based on results in May.In Fort Worth's Precinct 6, Jon Siegel got 43 percent of the votes and Arlington police officer Glen Bucy Jr. received 40 percent.The Precinct 8 runoff pits Michael Campbell against Chief Deputy Constable John E. Thompson. Campbell, an officer with the Methodist Health System Police Department, got 39 percent of the votes in May to Thompson's 35 percent. Precinct 8 includes parts of Fort Worth, Everman and Forest Hill.Domingo Ramirez Jr.,817-390-7763Twitter: @mingoramirezjrHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
