Precinct 3 Constable GOP Nomination Up For Vote
A former deputy constable and Whitehouse police officer vying for the Smith County Precinct 3 Constable Republican nomination will face off again Tuesday during the March 4 primary run off election.
Gary Guthrie and Dustin Rust did not receive a majority of the votes in a field of four to win during the primary.
Former deputy constable Guthrie led with 40.1 percent of the vote, followed by Whitehouse police officer Rust with 27.8 percent. Other votes cast include: Precinct 4 chief deputy Terry Brunk, 901 votes, or 17.6 percent; and former Arp City Marshal Rod Langlinais, 747 votes or 14.6 percent.
All registered Smith County voters living in voting precincts 23, 25-31, 45, 55, 56 and 59 are eligible to vote in the runoff as long as they did not cast ballots in the March 4 Democratic primary.
Rust, 27, is a graduate of the East Texas Police Academy and has more than 13 years of law enforcement experience, eight of which is in Precinct 3. He is a former Smith County Sheriff deputy, and currently works as a Whitehouse police department officer. He is also part-owner in a company that services and installs emergency equipment in law enforcement vehicles.
Rust is endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police, the Smith County Employees Association and the Smith County Chapter of the Disabled American Veterans.
Rust's goals for the position include expanding the constable offices patrol division, cracking down on DWI offenders, and continuing a community oriented operation. He would also like to introduce an Explorer Program to the constable's office.
In 2003, Rust was awarded the HOPE Award for domestic violence prevention and in 2005 he received the Judicial Certificate of Merit for response to a gunman who opened fire at the Smith County Courthouse that year.
Rust has also received endorsements from Precinct 3 Constable Danny Smith and Precinct 4 chief deputy Terry Brunk, who ran against Rust in the primary.
Guthrie, 51, ran and lost the election in 2002 to fill the unexpired term of Smith County Precinct 3 Constable Rick Waller, and ran for a second time in 2004 and lost to incumbent Danny Smith.
Guthrie said he is a certified civil deputy constable with 16 years of experience and 25 years of part time and full time experience as a certified peace officer.
He is a certified master peace officer with the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Education, and said he is certified to teach civil process and firearms classes.
His plan, if elected, is to focus the constable's office on civil process.
Guthrie retired from the Air Force in 1994 after a break of service in his military career he took a non-paid position with the Precinct 3 Constable's Office. Guthrie returned from Iraq earlier this year where he worked as an instructor training Iraqi police in firearm use.
He is married to Kathleen Guthrie and has three children and three step children.
The Precinct 3 constable office serves the Troup, Whitehouse and Arp areas.
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