Have you ever been arrested? Ever had any tax liens? If so, start & resolution dates?

I have never been arrested. I have never had any tax liens.

 

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

The three main reasons I am running for Montgomery County Precinct 4 Constable is community, transparency, and accountability.

1. Community- First of all I believe that our community deserves a Constable Office that serves the people. Without the people, we cannot effectively do our jobs as law enforcement officers, our citizens are what counts.

2. Transparency- We need a transparent Constable Office to build a stronger trust and understanding with our community.

3. Accountability- We need to be held accountable for our actions, without accountability, transparency means nothing.

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

I have served as a Deputy Constable for the past 7 ½ years at the Harris County Constable Office Precinct 4, which is the largest Constable Office in Texas. In my time at the Harris County Pct. 4 Constable Office, I have served as an Accident Investigator within our traffic enforcement division. I hold an Advanced Peace Officer Certification and will obtain my Master Peace Officer Certification in 2017. I am a certified law enforcement instructor. I have over 5000 continuing education hours with the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE). I completed my Bachelor of Science Criminal Justice Degree at Lamar University and graduated with highest honors, Suma Cum Laude. From 2011-2013, I served as Precinct 53 Chairman for the Montgomery County Republican Party. With my extensive education, training, and experience I believe I am the most qualified candidate to meet and exceed the obligations and duties of the Constable of Montgomery County Precinct 4.

What do you see as the 3 major challenges for your office over this next term?

Growth- East Montgomery County is experiencing rapid growth, both residential and business. In short, with more people living and commuting in and out of our area for business, reported crimes will increase.

Operations- We need to bring the Constable Office into the 21st century and look towards the services we provide and if they can be enhanced by newer technology. We must also have a close working relationship with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, Constable Pct. 1, 2, 3, 5, Texas Department of Public Safety, and all of our local municipal and school police agencies. Without cohesion with our local law enforcement agencies, we cannot maximize the services we provide to our citizens.

Budgeting- Upon taking office I will ensure that our taxpayer’s money is being spent in the correct places and not put to waste. This will require working within the department to determine the functions of our clerical, civil/patrol staff in order to determine if operational changes are needed in order to better serve our public and stretch the tax dollars we spend.

What goals do you have in mind, if you are elected, and to which you want to be measured against in the coming term?

The main duties of a Texas Constable are serving civil process. I want to implement a smart approach to our civil process serving. I believe incorporating technology into our civil process division will help streamline this service and make it become more efficient saving the county time and money.

We need to try to increase our patrol presence in Montgomery County Precinct 4. We have communities that are not being adequately served due to low work force in Precinct 4 and have to address this problem as we are becoming overrun with population growth. Unfortunately, with a larger population, reported crimes will go up and we need to place ourselves in a situation to be ahead of our areas growth to positively impact and improve public safety in our area. These two areas are important to me and accomplishing these goals among improving other areas of service is how I should be judged in my first term as Constable.

Are the United States and Texas constitutions living documents?  Please answer in the context of Progressivism versus Originalism.   

I believe the United States and Texas Constitutions are documents that were written as intended by our founding fathers. As a Texas Peace Officer, I have taken an oath to uphold and protect our Constitutions and I take that oath very seriously. Furthermore, I am committed to serving my community as our founding fathers intended and have signed the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association Resolution.

What is the job of a Constable? 

The office of Constable in Texas was provided under the Texas Constitution of 1836 under Section 5 Article 18. In Texas, the duties of a Constable are to bailiff the Justice of the Peace Court held in their elected precinct and serve the civil and writ processes issued by the courts. Constables are also peace officers under the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, Title 1, Chapter 2, Article 2.02 (2); constables, deputy constables, and those reserve deputy constables who hold a permanent peace officer license issued under Chapter 1701, Occupations Code. Since Constables and their Deputies are peace officers, these offices have authority to enforce laws, write reports, and patrol neighborhoods.

Civic, Political or union organization or individuals to whom you have contributed (five years):

Montgomery County Republican Party

Ron Hickman for Harris County Constable Precinct 4

Mark Herman for Harris County Constable Precinct 4

Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas (CLEAT)

Please describe the best way for the average voter to determine which candidate for this office is best.

The best way for the average voter to determine which law enforcement candidate is the best is to pay attention to the candidate’s agenda and motivation for running for office. As voters, we must hold promises made by a candidate to ensure that at the end of the term the elected party has fulfilled their promises made to the voters.

Where do you think the possibility for corruption resides in county government?  How would you handle it in your department, even if you think there is none?

Corruption can occur anywhere at any time. In a county government, a lack of oversight at the top of our offices can lead to corruption. I believe strongly that 99% of our law enforcement officers’ do the right thing day in and day out, however, we still must be prepared for cases of internal corruption and be able to handle these cases efficiently and effectively. An internal affairs division helps a police department determine whether a peace officer’s actions were just or unjust. As the head of this office, I would rely on findings from the investigation from our internal affairs investigator along with recommendations from our District and or County Attorney’s Offices to determine what actions should be taken given the circumstances.

How many hours a week working cases does it take to be a "good" law enforcement officer?

I do not believe there is a certain number of hours a week it takes to become a “good” law enforcement officer. I believe that a good law enforcement officer is made through a certain amount of experience, exposure, and training. I believe training is one of the greatest indicators of a good law enforcement officer. The more training a peace officer possesses the more confident and proficient he becomes at his job. As Constable, I would establish our agency as a training provider with the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, so we can provide in house training that will allow our agency to rely less on outside training facilities and effectively decrease the amount we spend training our deputies and supervisors.

How many days off per year should the officeholder of this position take to learn (seminars & workshops) or teach (give educational or motivational talks) or network with other county officials?

As Constable I would take training and seminars on a case-by-case basis. I plan to have a hand on approach with the Constable Office and do not plan on taking off extended periods of time off for seminars and workshops. I would rather try to attend training in house as I mentioned previously in order to stay where my community needs me and keep our training costs down. There are certain instances that outside training may become necessary for leadership development, but I vow not to let this training to be a burden to the taxpayers and always be available for call no matter what situation may arise. I believe we should always be networking with other county officials, especially our county law enforcement officials in order to enhance public safety. We must work together in Montgomery County as law enforcement professionals to provide the most effective and efficient law enforcement services to our citizens.

What have you done to prepare for serving in this role?

I have been dedicated to continued training in my field and have amassed over 5000 continuing training hours and an Advanced Peace Officer Certification in my 7 1/2 years in law enforcement. I will have my Master Peace Officer Certification in 2017, which is the highest level of certification in the State of Texas for a Texas Peace Officer. Since 2009, I have spent a large amount of my law enforcement training learning about traffic safety along with collision investigation and reconstruction. These classes are very challenging and require a fine attention to detail and critical thinking skills, which is necessary to investigate vehicular homicide cases and collision causation. In my time as a peace officer I felt the need to complete, my college degree to understand my profession on a deeper level in order to provide a better service to the people I serve. I decided to finish my degree at Lamar University. Completing my degree was one of the hardest times in my life as I had to balance my duties to God, family, work, and college. I could have not done this without the grace of God and the love and patience from my wife Michelle and my newborn son Dominic. I excelled in college and graduated with highest honors, Suma Cum Laude. I am a go to member of my agency who always lends a helping hand to my fellow officers when my experience and expertise are needed. I am ready and prepared to take my success

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

I do not have any political endorsements from any established candidate. I do have several people including friends and family that have offered their endorsements and help towards my campaign. Some of these people are: Julia Appleton, Richard and Joy McWhirter, Matthew McWhirter, Mickey and Yevette Gilbert, Benjamin Santos, Dennis Mays, Lance Shannon, Ray Weikle, Christopher Wohlschlegel, Dustin Davis, R.J. & Martha Anne Walker.

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

I have looked at the Montgomery County Precinct 4 Constable budget since the 2009 Fiscal Year to the proposed 2016 Fiscal Year. In our proposed 2016 budget 88 percent of our budget is going towards total salary and employee benefits. While this is normal for an agency this size, what is not is the department head salary, which has gone from $91,124 in 2009 to an estimated $122,699 in 2015 and to $126,890 in 2016. The median household income in Montgomery County is around $69,317 (2013 Census). During this same period, the median household income in Fort Bend County was $87,901 (2013 Census). Fort Bend County also has a population greater that than of Montgomery County by more than 100,000 people. As of 2014, the Fort Bend County Constable Office has a department heady salary of $91,000. In Montgomery County, our citizens working in private industries are not getting cost of living increases and spontaneous raises that our county officials have enjoyed here in Montgomery County. As Constable, I vow to freeze my salary and not accept any pay increases for myself while serving as Constable. I believe any pay increase for this position is unnecessary and not beneficial to the county. Furthermore, it does not help retain our experienced peace officers who make far less than some local and surrounding agencies and it certainly does not put more peace officers on the street for public safety. Outside of this budget issue, there are other areas of interest in the budget that I will have to study further in order to determine what is actually being budgeted for and spent in lines of our budget.

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

I believe that federal money injected into a local police agency can create a conflict of interest in serving our communities as a local law enforcement agency. I take this position given seeing the current Obama Administrations attempts to control certain local entities through grant distribution. Simply put, you must adhere to agenda set by the Obama Administration in order to continue to be funded. I will never put the citizens of my county in a position where their best interests and safety are outweighed by losing federal grant money. We are a local agency and belong to the people; I believe injecting federal monies into our local agency does not send the right message to our people who trust in us to have their best interests at heart.

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

I believe it is important to disclose in full our salaries and budgets to the public. As Constable, I want to bring a level of ownership to the people that I believe they have not been given yet in Montgomery County and I plan to accomplish this by allowing total transparency to our financial information and allow our citizens to become more informed about our budget. As a law enforcement agency certain records must be redacted before being given to the general public requesting them as to protect personal and private information of individual citizens. As Constable, I will have an open door policy and invite any citizen to discuss any issue they may have with our office in order to better connect, communicate, and educate those whom I serve to build long lasting positive relationships.

What is your knowledge/opinion on Strong Cities Network?  What action would you take if the Biden administration attempts to implement it?

The Strong Cities Network is a relatively new initiative (launched September 29, 2015) that I have been attempting to become familiar with; however, the program appears to lack transparency, which immediately steers me away from it. If the Obama Administration attempts to implement this, I would resist efforts due to the program not lining up with my core beliefs and the best interest of the citizens that I protect and serve. Without being under the umbrella of federal grants, a federal agency cannot tell a local agency how to run their office. I have pledged an oath to the citizens as I am a public servant and I will never forget to whom I am truly responsible.

What is your position of dash/body cams & public availability of that info

I believe dash and body cameras are a great tool for law enforcement and the community. These cameras limit liability to the agencies and officers who use them by allowing an unbiased account of how a situation truly unfolded. These cameras also weed out unethical and sometimes illegal actions taken by law enforcement officers. Public availability is a tricky situation, as I do not believe that all video should be available to an individual that has no particular interest in a case. I want to protect this sensitive data as I believe while these cameras do mostly good, there is the possibility that video given to a particular person can be used improperly. However, these videos should be readily available to our prosecutors and defense attorneys for full disclosure before a trial occurs in criminal matters. Texas Senate Bill 158 was recently introduced in the 84th Legislative Session and sets standards for departments using body cameras. The State of Texas now requires law enforcement agencies to adopt a policy and certain regulations set by the State for a department using body cameras. Fiscally speaking these programs will cost money due to not only the expense of the body camera, but the storage that these videos will require by law.

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 proud of the direction of our county at this moment and plan to make the greatest impact I possibly can as Constable to change certain facets of our county government. Over the past few months, I have seen firsthand a Commissioner’s Court that has proposed a heavily increased raise for themselves and all department heads in the county that would rival that of those in a larger county such as Fort Bend. I vow to fight this frivolous spending and will not take a cost of living raise or any other raise for myself while in office. I believe any excess monies should be put back into our communities and our law enforcement professionals who are tasked with protecting and serving us. As Constable, I will not only fight to keep our communities safe from crime, but keep them safe from unnecessary government spending as well.