What are the three main reasons you are running for this office? Do you see any potential conflicts of interest?

I am a life ;long resident of Montgomery County Pct 2. I have worked for the Conroe Police Department for almost 18 years.  Through my time with the Conroe Police Department I have worked as a Patrolman, K9 Officer, Narcotics Detective and Patrol Sergeant. I have been involved in thousands of criminal investigations, both state and federal, that have led to countless felony convictions of persons preying on the citizens of Montgomery County. I have worked with numerous different agencies over the years from DEA, ATF, Secret Service, Texas Department of Public Safety, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, all Montgomery County Constable Departments, Houston Police Department, Harris County Sheriff’s Office and many more to better our community. I know what the spirit of cooperation between agencies can do for our community. In 2015 I was named employee of the year for the whole City of Conroe, for the investigation into the supplier of synthetic LSD within Montgomery ISD. With the assistance of HPD, my partner & I were
able to arrest the person who was supplying the drugs to students in Montgomery ISD, so that no more kid’s lives were lost due to this drug. I have also
received two Meritorious Service Awards for my work at the Conroe Police Department. I currently hold a Master Peace Officer License with over 2400 hours of continuing education, with almost 100 hours of that being leadership training.  I am a Conservative Republican who staunchly believes in the Constitution of the United States as well as that of our Great State of Texas. I have dedicated most of my adult life to protecting the lives and property of the citizens of this County and have an affinity for educating and protecting the youth of Montgomery County as I know they are the future.  Prior to my tenure at the Conroe Police Department, I was employed in the private sector for twelve years.  I started as a helper and moved up to a supervisor there.  I supervised men who were twice my age at that time.  I am the only candidate that has been a supervisor and a leader prior to taking the office of Constable.

Please describe what you believe are the most significant issues in this race, why and what you'll do to address them?

I think there are several issues;  to begin with the Constable is statutory obligated to provide a bailiff for the JP court.  There has been times when Judge Spikes has been without a bailiff, this is totally unacceptable.  There are over 13000 warrants that have gone uncollected in Precinct 2.  That equates to over 1.4 million dollars in fines.  Most JP courts only hold court twice a week depending on the case load.  That to me is a waste of manpower when the bailiff is not out trying to either secure payment of the fines or placing those in jail that have the warrants.  Depending on the case load I would like to work with Judge Spikes in having a full time bailiff, that works fulltime.  When they are not acting as a bailiff for the JP court they would either be on the phone trying to secure payment of monies owed, setting up payment plans for those who need it, or arresting others who refuse to pay.

 Another issue I see is there are 15 full time sworn personnel in this Constable's offices, from the Constable down.  There are only three of those people who serve civil process.  My goal would be to have everyone in the office serving civil process, after all that is the statutory duty.  I want the taxpayer to get what they are paying for.

There has been waste in the Precinct 2 Constables Office.  They have had a K-9 in their budget for the last several years with the tax payer footing the bill for this, even though a K-9 has not been working on the street.  This would either be eliminated or there would be a K-9 working for the people of Precinct 2.  

There is a whole rank structure for precinct two Constable's office.  What I mean is there is a Constable, Chief Deputy, Captain, Lieutenant, & a Sergeant for 10 working people.  These salaries alone are over $500,000.00. I don't believe that it takes five people to supervise 10 people.  

What is your position on the public's right to record police or other government officials on public property?

I have no issues with the public recording public servants as long as it does not constitute interfering with the duties of the public servant.  I welcome recording as it holds public officials accountable. 

What is your position on dash/body cams & public availability of those videos?

I am a proponent of body & or dash cameras.  That technology has been available for quite some time now.  I believe it is a valuable asset for both the citizens & law enforcement.   

As for the availability of those videos, it should just be a simple open records request unless there in an ongoing criminal investigation & the release of the video would hamper the investigation.    

Who is endorsing you and what is their relationship to you?

The only endorsement that I have received thus far if from the Conroe Professional Fire Fighters Association.

The only relation I have with them is that I work day in and day out with these Fire Fighters & they know my background and my work ethic.

Please describe the concrete goals against which you want to be measured in the coming term.

    I would like to strengthen our working relationship with commissioners & other law enforcement agencies, to provide a better service to the citizens of Pct 2. Having been in narcotics before, I have conducted operations that have included up to 15 different agencies at one time.  I know what the spirit of cooperation can do for an agency.

Be more fiscally responsible, to cut out waste, head towards zero based budgeting.  This means to only include in the budget the needs of the department. 

Have a majority of all sworn personnel serving civil process, instead of just three, to be more efficient in serving papers.

Have a fulltime baliff to help collect debts owed to the county.

Transparency, I would like for our budget, to be posted online for citizens to see how their money is being utilized.

When not serving civil process, work with different home owners associations to provide a community based policing effort for the citizenry of Pct 2.

I also would like to expand the hours of the Constable Dept.  I believe that the department, with the current manpower there, can have their duty hours expanded to midnight to better serve the citizens of the Precinct.
  

Please list all civic, political, and union organizations or individuals to whom you have contributed in the past five years.

These are the ones that I remember, there maybe more but I just can't think of anymore right now.

Conroe Area Youth Baseball, Montgomery County Fair Association, Conroe Noon Lions Club, MCDA Brett Ligon, Commissioner James Noack, Constable Philip Cash, Joann Linzor, Judge Phil Grant, Robert Walker, Americans Stand United, Judge Wayne Mack, Conroe Professional Firefighters Assoc., Conroe Police Officers Assoc., Constable Chris Jones, National Rifle Association, Texas State Rifle Association, Texas Narcotic Officers Association, Commissioner James Metts, Commissioner Charlie Riley, Vince Santini, District Clerk Melissa Miller, County Judge Mark Keough, County Treasure Melanie Bush, Constable Rowdy Hayden, Texas Municipal Police Association, State Rep. Will Metcalf, Senator Brandon Creighton, Sheriff Rand Henderson, Tax Accessor Tammy McRae

To what extent do you believe the state or federal government should be able to obtain court orders directing parents to do things for their children that the parent does not believe should be done?

At the point a reasonable & prudent person would believe that the parents decision was going to adversely affect the child’s physical or mental well being to a level that would cause the child irreparable harm

Please list all conservative groups for which you are or have been a member, and list any positions held in each group.

I have not in the past or currently been a member of any conservative group, nor have I served on any board.

Please describe the changes you will make to improve the efficiency of the office for which you are running.

I have previously answered this question as follows;

  I would like to strengthen our working relationship with commissioners & other law enforcement agencies, to provide a better service to the citizens of Pct 2. Having been in narcotics before, I have conducted operations that have included up to 15 different agencies at one time.  I know what the spirit of cooperation can do for an agency.

Be more fiscally responsible, to cut out waste, head towards zero based budgeting.  This means to only include in the budget the needs of the department. 

Have a majority of all sworn personnel serving civil process, instead of just three, to be more efficient in serving papers.

Have a fulltime bailiff to help collect debts owed to the county.

Transparency, I would like for our budget, to be posted online for citizens to see how their money is being utilized.

When not serving civil process, work with different home owners associations to provide a community based policing effort for the citizenry of Pct 2.  

I also would like to expand the hours of the Constable Dept.  I believe that the department, with the current manpower there, can have their duty hours expanded to midnight to be serve the citizens of the Precinct.

Please describe your position on the proper balance of parental rights and the welfare of the child. Please include a couple of examples.

I think that parents should have the right to reasonable discipline for the welfare of the child.  In saying this I believe that it should be what a reasonable & prudent person would say was reasonable, as long as it does not go into abuse. This is usually on a case by case basis as I do not believe there can be a hardline rule.  I also believe that in most cases the parent should have the ultimate say for the care of their children.  An example of not having the say & having a court intervene, is if a child has a debilitating disease & is possibly going to die, a group of medical professionals agree that it would be a lifesaving treatment, the parent fails to get the treatment the child may need for life saving intervention.

What's your position on red-flag laws, expansion of background checks to private firearms sales, imposing civil liability on sellers of firearms, or any additional regulation of the private sales of firearms?

First of all, I am a member of Texas State Rifle Assoc. & The National Rifle Assoc.  I am a staunch believer in the 2nd amendment right to keep & bear arms. I do not believe that any new laws would be the answer.  Additional laws are only going to affect the law abiding citizen.  Criminals do not go by laws anyway, therefore if new laws are enacted they are only going to affect the law abiding citizenry.

How will you improve the transparency and access to financial and other records for the public?

I would like to have my budget placed on the county based website, to allow ease of access for the public.  I would also like to have a biannual release of statistics for the office, how many papers have been served, how much in fines and other fees have been collected, or any other useful statistical information that would be of interest to the public.  I am for an open government.

What are the top 3 areas where the budget for this office needs to be adjusted?

In this question about budgeting, I have observed in the past several years of Precinct two's budget where a K-9 was included in the budget.  During this time period, Precinct two did not have a K-9 that was working the street.  This was a manipulation of tax payer money since there was no K-9.

Another thing I believe is that Precinct 2 is top heavy.  What I mean is that there are five titled supervisors from Sergeant to Constable for 10 sworn deputies and four office staff.  I have said it before, I do not believe that it takes five to supervise 10 deputies.

I also believe that the department can use existing personnel to gather monies which have been left  uncollectewd from the JP Court and nears 1.5 million,  The bailiff and even less busy Constable Department Personnel can use downtime to secure payments of monies owed to the JP Courts, by either setting up ayment plans, taking restitution, or placing the offender in jail for the warrants.

Is there anything in your background of an embarrassing nature that should be explained before your election? Arrests/Convictions? Bankruptcys?

I was arrested in 1992 at the age of 21 for a disorderly conduct charge that had to do with fighting with another person in a public place.  This is the same as receiving a speeding ticket.

How should the sheriff/constable handle corruption in his department, even when he thinks there isn't any?

Be transparent, include the Texas Rangers & Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office Public Integrity Unit so that there is no perceived notion of a coverup in any type of corruption investigation.  If an investigation finds that corruption has occurred under my watch as Constable, there will be informational releases to allow the public the information when lawful & any person will be disciplined based on the severity of the charges.

How much of a problem is county hiring based on the "good old boy" / "loyalty to leadership" instead of one's ability to efficiently and ethically perform their tasks and functions? and what can realistically be done about it?

I am not a proponent of the good old boy system, however I do not have much knowledge on county hiring practices.  I believe that the most qualified candidate for a job should get the job.  I want candidates who have the most knowledge, best trained, & hardest workers to work with me.  Leadership starts at the top of any organization.  If the leader is leading, instead of do as I say do, others strive to please that person. 

What is your position on taking federal money for your department?

I am not against receiving federal funds unless there are rules with the funding that I disagree with as a conservative.  If there is grant money available for different programs for the Constable Department that would help alleviate some budgeting costs & be beneficial to the department, I would be for that to reduce the burden on the Montgomery County Tax Payer, as long as it did not go against my conservative views or our constitutional rights.

How would your election affect you financially?

 Based on the salary I am paid by the City of Conroe at a set hourly rate I do not feel that I would be gaining much at all financially by being elected Precinct 2 Constable.  My annual income is set on a 40 hour work week over an 80 hour pay scale where I as a Sergeant am not required to answer calls, questions, or attend events not inside my regular duty hours.  If at any time my department requires me to do as such, I am compensated at an overtime rate for however long dictated, as I am an employee of the city.  As Constable I would not be mandated by the City of Conroe payment policies thus any calls outside of normal business hours that I received or functions that I need to attend as Precinct 2 Constable, I would not be compensated at any additional rate.  I am very aware based off my time as a  Narcotics Detective that the duties of a law enforcement officer given the task of running an agency or a large scale operation do not end at a set clock out time in the same manner as it may for your typical employee.  It is for those reasons that I feel as Constable that I would not be enriching myself financially by seeking this job.