Publicly-Elected Police
We elect judges. Why not cops? We have eight “justice” precincts in Harris County. And each one of those precincts has a Constable. Constables serve four-year terms and “execute process” (i.e. round ‘em up, subpoena, writs, sieze property) in county criminal and civil matters. They can also e.p. all over the state for criminal matters.1
There definitely seems to be an overlap of duties with the Harris County Sheriff’s office (and possibly Houston Police Department). But while the county sheriff is associated with county jail, the county constables are associated with the justice of the peace courts (we’ll explore JoP courts in another post).
Harris County “justice” precincts from harriscountytx.gov
Digital Presence
It looks like some of the eight Harris County Constables have their own .com websites, with their own domain. Public offices usually have websites ending in .gov. And are usually nested together (as in the case of each of the five Harris County Commissioners having their own websites, as a sub-page of an overarching Harris County government site).
Harris County Constables (Precincts 1-8)
These eight gorgeous devils “execute process” for their respective precincts.
Alan Rosen (D) serves his second full term as Precinct 1 Constable. Rosen won in November 2020 by default because apparently the election was canceled.2
Jerry Garcia (D) serves his first term as Precinct 2 Constable. Garcia was elected in November 2020.3
Sherman Eagleton (D) serves his second full term as Precinct 3 Constable. Eagleton was re-elected in November 2020.45
Mark Herman (R) serves his second full term as Precinct 4 Constable. Herman was re-elected in November 2020. Budget: $62M. Deputies: 600. Civilian employees: Dozens.6
Ted Heap (R) serves his second term as Precinct 5 Constable. Heap was re-elected in November 2020.47
Silvia Trevino (D) serves her second term as Precinct 6 Constable. Trevino won in November 2020 by default because apparently the election was canceled.8
May Walker (D) serves her fifth term as Precinct 7 Constable. Walker won in November 2020 by default because apparently the election was canceled.9
Phil Sandlin (R) serves his third full term as Precinct 8 Constable. Sandlin won in November 2020 by default because apparently the election was canceled.10
November 2023 Elections
Nothing to do here except register to vote. Let’s talk again in next year when all eight Harris County Constables’ terms are up.