John Hatzenbuhler is in his twentieth year as the Denton County Constable for Precinct four and he has just announced his intention to run for four more years. During an interview at The News Connection office, he spelled out some of the duties his office is responsible for. “Constables have a long history that has its roots in England,” he said. “Constables were the first peace officers in New York City,” he added. “We are certified peace officers just like police and sheriffs.” When Hatzenbuhler first took office, 19 years ago, constables and their deputies didn’t wear uniforms or drive marked cars. “Most people didn’t even know we had constables,” he said. Hatzenbuhler said it was an educational process to explain what duties his office performed. Lack of visibility was one of the reasons people were unaware of the government function attached to the role. “I was the first one to put my officers in uniforms and marked cars.” 

Some of the cities and towns his precinct represents, in whole or in part, are Flower Mound, Double Oak, Copper Canyon, Bartonville, Roanoke, Trophy Club, Argyle and Justin. “Our mandated duty is warrant service, bailiff duty in justice court and civil process. Civil process is a short term for a lot of work. It covers evictions, landlord tenant problems, lawsuits and divorces, a whole list of writs that we have. In other words, we seize property and hold sales to satisfy judgments in civil cases. We also do something we call ‘snag a tag;’ referring to people who will write a hot check for the license plate for their cars. When the check bounces, we go out there and either get the money or get the plate,” he said. 

Including the constable, there are 13 people working out of the office in Roanoke. The officers work 10 hour shifts, 4 days per week on a staggered schedule that ranges from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 12 p.m. to 10 p.m. “But, my guys are not really hour counters,” the constable said. “If they have a paper on somebody and they know he’s not going to be in until 10:30 or so, they’ll stay around and they’ll go serve him. They’ll do whatever it takes.”  In his role as constable, Hatzenbuhler must prepare an annual budget, which is submitted first to the Budget Office for review and possible changes before it goes to the Denton County Commissioners Court for approval.

Basically, the constable’s office gets court orders and warrants from around the state and even out of state. “We get court orders in the mail and hand-delivered from Dallas County or wherever. Couriers will bring them to the office and we stamp them in and then a deputy goes out and tries to serve them.” Constables and their deputies are empowered to make arrests and have done so in warrant cases. “A lot of warrants are served during traffic stops,” Hatzenbuhler said. “The officer will check out a driver on the radio and learn that a warrant is outstanding. In such a case, the driver will be arrested.”

In addition to the constable’s vocation, he has an avocation that could be considered manual adroitness. Yes, he’s a professional magician and he uses his talent to bring joy and amusement to many local events and fundraisers. He has also taken his talent on the road; or, one could say, on the boat. Hatzenbuhler just got back from his fourth trip to South America where he entertained and donated gifts to some of the impoverished tribes along the Amazon River.

One of the programs he’s particularly proud of is called, ASAP. “It stands for Absent Student Assistant Program and it’s a contract I have with Northwest ISD. The way it works is; if a student skips school today, an unexcused absence, they notify my office by fax. I have an ASAP deputy that goes out and talks to the parents that night. It’s a way of trying to get the kids back into school without having to go through the justice system.”

As for the campaign, the constable said he will be speaking at various city/town council meetings, doing fundraisers, mail-outs, breakfast meetings etc. He added that he has the support of many elected officials in the county. As is the case in any campaign, name recognition is an important factor. Hence, with 19 years in office behind him, and the commensurate experience, the Hatzenbuhler name may be formidable indeed. However, he is being challenged for the GOP nomination in March 2008. His opponent is an investigator with the Denton County District Attorney’s office.