Tarrant constable candidates not short on experience

Candidates ranging in age from 26 to 69 and with varying degrees of experience are seeking constable positions in five different Tarrant County precincts.

Precinct 1

The race for Tarrant County constable Precinct 1 has two familiar professionals.

Republicans Tom Hathorn and Dale Clark met in a 2012 runoff for the position, with Clark taking the victory.

Clark and Hathorn are again opponents in Precinct 1, which covers downtown Fort Worth and neighborhoods north to Haslet.

Clark, 68, said he has done a good job the last four years as Precinct 1 constable and wants to continue his work.

“I believe our office has worked well with judges and attorneys in civil matters that are our responsibilities,” Clark said.

Clark is a longtime resident of Haltom City and has more than 25 years in law enforcement experience with Arlington police and the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport Department of Public Safety.

Hathorn, 59, also has a long law enforcement history, 36 years with the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Department.

“I want to play an active role in making my community, state and country safer, a better place to raise my family and forge a future filled with promise,” said Hathorn, who lives in Watauga.

With the Sheriff’s Department, Hathorn noted that he had experience in patrol, as an investigator and a commander with the SWAT team.

Precinct 4

Three candidates with experience in law enforcement are vying for the job being vacated by Dub Bransom, who is retiring.

Joe D. “Jody” Johnson, 53, retired from the Fort Worth Police Department this month after a 30-year career.

Though Johnson said public safety is always a top concern and will be addressed as needed, he said he’ll make sure the constable’s office doesn’t lose its focus on its primary responsibilities of conducting civil process paperwork service, providing building security for the Northwest Subcourthouse campus and running an efficient and fiscally conservative office.

“We’re not going out and running radar and looking for tickets to write,” Johnson said. “If there are some public safety issues, we’ll address them as we see it.”

J.D. Sparks, 51, has a 32-year career in law enforcement at departments in Arkansas and Texas. He currently works as a deputy sheriff and sergeant in the patrol division in his eighth year with the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Department.

He said he has talked to the public about their dealings with the constable’s office. He said the most common complaint that he heard was that civil papers were not being served in a timely manner.

“If I’m elected, I’m going to go in there and evaluate the department to see if there is anything that does need to be changed,” Sparks said. “I’ve heard that there is a shortage of staffing there as far as deputies go. I’ll fill those with the best qualified people I can find for the position.”

Michael Hardy, 69, a cattle raiser and deputy constable in Jack County, served 35 years in law enforcement, including as a lieutenant over the criminal, civil and mental warrant division for the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Department and as a contingent commander with the U.S. police forces on a U.N. mission in East Timor.

As a landlord, Hardy said he understands the need of the constable’s office and prompt service. He said he personally has done the tasks required of the office, such as serving eviction notices, while working as a deputy constable.

“My opponents keep talking about public safety and yada, yada, yada,” Hardy said. “I’m thinking that’s not a constable’s job. He’s the community’s public servant when it come to civil process.”

Hardy said he believes the constable’s office must re-evaluate its goals and use of part-time employees, reserves and regular staff to keep up with the booming population in northwest Tarrant County.

Precinct 5

Three candidates, including incumbent Ruben Garcia, are running for Precinct 5 constable.

Also running are Michael Valdez and Richard Alfaro.

Garcia, 38, is seeking a second term.

Before he was elected constable in 2012, Garcia spent nine years as a deputy with the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Department.

“Mikey Valdez is an ambitious young man, but this is a law enforcement position,” Garcia said. “This is a very serious law enforcement job.”

Garcia said his ability to serve “high-priority” warrants and running an efficient office should give him the advantage in the race.

He also said he has an “excellent working relationship” with Sergio De Leon, the Precinct 5 Justice of the Peace.

Valdez, 26, is the youngest candidate running for a local office.

But Valdez isn’t unfamiliar with Tarrant County politics. His grandfather, Judge Manuel Valdez, was justice of the peace in Precinct 5 for more than 30 years before retiring in 2012.

“I was born and raised in campaigns,” Michael Valdez said.

Valdez, a stockbroker with Fidelity Investments who graduated from Texas Wesleyan University, said the constable office is the “county’s ear to the community.”

“I want to be the middle man between law enforcement and the community,” he said.

Alfaro, 56, retired in December from the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Department, where he was a deputy for 30 years.

He said he started thinking about running for constable two years ago.

With his retirement freeing up his time, he decided to enter the race. He has spent the last month trying to build up political support — something he’s learned on the fly as a first-time candidate.

“When I started this campaign, I started with $150 in the budget,” he said. “Basically, it was just my aunts and uncles and cousins, and we had a tamale sale. That kind of helped us build up support a little bit.”

Alfaro said he’d want to focus the constable’s office on being as personable as possible.

“You have to make sure they’re not robots,” Alfaro said.

Precinct 6

Constable Jon H. Siegel, 58, has 16 years experience working in two Tarrant County constable offices, the last four years serving as Precinct 6 Constable.

He is facing a challenge from Glen Bucy, an Army veteran.

Siegel has 22 years’ experience in law enforcement, including working for the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Department.

He said he is most proud of saving taxpayer’s money by cutting overtime and implementing a reserve officer program that has grown to four members. Once the reserve officers complete field training, he said they will be used primarily for courthouse security and as bailiffs and providing backup for officers when two-person units are needed.

Though the constable’s office did not qualify under state or federal grants for body cameras, Siegel said he’d like to find a way to obtain such cameras if re-elected.

“I’m hoping with technology changing and the cost of the equipment and more importantly, the cost of the storage of the data coming down and becoming more attainable for smaller departments, hopefully over the next few years we’ll be able to obtain body cameras for officers.”

An Army veteran who served in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom and an Arlington police officer for the last six years, Bucy wants to equip deputies with body cameras to provide increased accountability for the officer and help ease citizen concerns.

A survivor of the Wedgwood Baptist Church shooting in which a gunman killed seven and injured seven others before taking his own life and a father to two children, Bucy said he also wants deputies to play a bigger role in helping to protect children after their civil service duties are completed.

If elected, Bucy, 34, said he intends to rotate deputies at the precinct’s elementary and middle schools before and after school to help deter crime and speeding and provide faster emergency response time.

“We’re able to provide a service at no increased cost to the taxpayers,” Bucy said.

Precinct 8

Incumbent Michael Campbell and Raymond Williby, a former sergeant in the Precinct 8 constable’s office, will square off in the March 1 primary.

Both are running as Democrats.

The race has not been without conflict. In January, Campbell filed a lawsuit, claiming Williby was not eligible to run because he didn’t live in the precinct. That lawsuit however was dismissed.

Campbell, 53, said he brought the office back in compliance on such areas such as the property and evidence rooms. His office also was diligent in enforcement of truancy.

“I want to continue to faithfully serve the community,” Campbell said.

Campbell has been in law enforcement for 30 years, graduating from the Dallas Police Academy in 1985 and the Fort Worth Police Academy in 1986.

Williby, 56, said if elected he wanted to focus on the youth of Precinct 8, establishing programs to keep them from having a criminal history.

“I’m a homegrown professional whose goal is to help the community,” Williiby said.

Williby was a U.S. Marine, and has 35 years of service with the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Department and two constable offices.

This story was originally published February 18, 2016 at 5:36 PM with the headline "Tarrant constable candidates not short on experience."