Joe Wright announces bid for Collin County Constable Precinct 4

I am proud to announce that I am running for Collin County Constable Pct.4 to replace the current Constable, Johnny Todd, who is retiring. I am a native Texan with over 24 years of law enforcement experience, including the Harris County Pct.4 Constable's Office, King County, Wa. Sheriff's Office and currently with the Collin County Sheriff's Office as a Master Peace Officer.

As a Conservative Republican, I look forward in using my experience and background in bringing fiscal responsibility, efficiency and cost savings measures, through the use of modern day technology, to the tax payers in Pct.4. I would appreciate your support for the March 2012* primaries!

*The primaries have been moved to April 3, 2012.

Elect Joe Wright for Collin County Constable Pct.3

Association president running for constable

Published: Monday, December 19, 2011 10:51 AM CST

Kelley Chambers, kchambers@acnpapers.com

Collin County Deputy Association President Joe Wright announced his bid for Collin County Constable Precinct 4 in the upcoming March primary last week.

The conservative candidate is running against Precinct 4 Deputy Constable Cesare Venegoni to replace Constable Johnny Todd, who recently announced his retirement effective January 2013. The Precinct 4 jurisdiction covers parts of west Plano, Frisco, McKinney, Celina and Prosper.

Joe Wright

"I am running for constable because in addition to adhering to the state-mandated core functions, I have a plan for serving the people of Collin County that includes improving efficiency and the experience of citizens who interact with the constable's office," Wright said.

Constables serve as chief process servers of their precinct and are required to serve as bailiffs in the Justice of the Peace courts. The Constable's office also executes and returns to courts all warrants, citations, subpoenas, forcibles and writs.

Before he began working at the Collin County Sheriff's Department in 2008, the McKinney resident worked at the King County Sheriff's Department in Seattle, Wash., for seven years and before that worked as a constable deputy for 13 years in Harris County.

Wright was elected president of the Deputies Association in May by his peers, which consist of members of the sheriff's department, constable's office, district attorney's office and the fire marshal's office.

For the native Texan, whose family settled in Collin County in the mid-1800s, Wright said he hopes he can better serve its citizens in a larger capacity under a constable role.

"I believe in putting the needs and privacy of citizens first," Wright said. "I look forward in using my experience and background in bringing efficiency and cost savings to the taxpayers in Precinct 4."

If elected, Wright said one of his priorities is to bring the constable's office into the 21st century with upgraded technologies and online records that could make their jobs more effective and its services more accessible. In order to do this, Wright said he hopes to work with other agencies to streamline the civil service process, reducing or eliminating backlog while improving fiscal responsibility.

"Right now the only way an attorney can track the process is to call," Wright said. "By implementing a tracking system much like UPS uses, that attorney can type in a case number and see where the deputies made service attempts. They are using this system in Travis County and it's proven to be very effective."

Being involved in civil litigation can be a very stressful time and those involved need to be treated with respect and dignity, Wright said. Therefore, Wright said he hopes to tweak the culture of the constable's office by enhancing its customer service and having an empathetic approach in reducing unneeded attention and stress in the home or place of business. Wright said he would also like to implement more flexibility for paying misdemeanor fines on Class C warrants like those for traffic violations.

"I'm also looking forward to improving relationships and communication between the constable's office and the commissioner's court and surrounding agencies to update processes that will increase efficiency, ultimately making this office more fiscally responsible and accessible for citizens of Collin County," Wright said. "I also plan to work with other Collin County constable offices in establishing continuity of services so that citizens know what to expect regardless of which constable's office they do business with."