Underdog David Woodruff is making waves in the race for Constable

The Tarrant County GOP straw poll demonstrated that the 2012 election season could be the year for underdogs and newcomers to overtake long-time seated incumbents. Positions once perceived as sure-shot wins are now anybody’s game. With a Presidential battle unfolding on the national stage amongst Republican candidates, citizens are more tuned-in to the issues and are looking for solutions from potential leaders at all levels. The Arlington Voice sat down with one of the candidates for Constable in precinct two, David Woodruff—one of the underdogs who shook things up during the straw poll.

Precinct two is currently served by Constable Robert McGinty, who won his seat in November of 2008. Constable McGinty, who campaigns on the Republican platform, pulled in just over 29% of the vote during the TCGOP straw poll; Mr. Woodruff won the remaining 70%. The straw poll was meant to give candidates a sampling of the way Conservative voters in the county are leaning.

Mr. Woodruff proved during his interview with the Arlington Voice that he understands the responsibilities and authorities vested in the Office of Constable. The Constable’s Office is the oldest established law enforcement office in the State of Texas. A Constable has the same authorities that are granted to any police officer; however, they function differently in that they are not emergency responders, they are instead officers of the court. Constables play an important role in keeping the court process running efficiently. They handle various matters including writ of possession (eviction), seizing property during civil disputes, and executing warrants.

Mr. Woodruff stated he would like to see more community involvement in terms of solving the issue of truancy. He expressed concerns about the financial impact truancy has on the Arlington ISD. According to Mr. Woodruff, a one percent difference in attendance is worth $3.5 million dollars to the school district. School funding is based on the average daily attendance modified by the percentage of absentees excused versus unexcused. David estimates approximately 2000 kids are classified as “unexcused” from school every day.

“Truancy is the number one predictor of future criminal activity for juveniles,” Mr. Woodruff stated, “it’s termed the ‘gateway offense’ because once students start skipping school it opens the door to a variety of bad choices. Daytime burglaries, property crimes, and gang activity are all related to truancy.”

Mr. Woodruff believes that the duties of the Constable are not being fulfilled by Mr. McGinty. David told the Arlington Voice that he contacted the Justice of the Peace Court to inquire as to how many warrants related to truancy would need to be served if he took over office. The response he received was that there are approximately four file cabinet drawers full of unserved truancy warrants.

During his first week in office, David said he would execute a “needs assessment” to evaluate the current truancy situation. After determining how many warrants would need to be served, David claims he would start “attacking the problem on an ‘as needed’ basis.”

Mr. Woodruff has been a resident of North Arlington since 1972. He graduated from Lamar High School in 1987 and pursued a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice at the University of North Texas. He started his police commission in 2003 with the Dalworthington Gardens police force. He is also the director of purchasing for a local automotive group where he manages a $3.5 million monthly budget.

The complete Arlington Voice interview is supplied below as a courtesy to voters. By listening to the full interview, you can learn more details of David’s positions as well as his thoughts on adverse possession and Constable McGinty’s job performance. You can also visit his campaign website at www.electdavidwoodruff.com to learn more.