Tyler

By ROY MAYNARD
Staff Writer

The Smith County Republican Party’s candidate recruitment committee has chosen Andy Dunklin, Todd Thoene and Glenn Potter as the three finalists to replace the late Precinct 2 Constable Frank Creath, who died in June after winning the party’s primary election in March.

GOP officials from the constable’s precinct will meet on Aug. 4 to choose one of the three to put on the November ballot.

And since no Democrat filed to be on the ballot, the person the Republican Party officials choose will take office on Jan. 1, 2009, for a four-year term.

“The meeting went well,” said committee chairman Nathaniel Moran. “We knew our job wasn’t to do the job of the precinct chairman, and choose the candidate, but to just narrow the field so the precinct chairs would have an easier time with their choice.”

The committee looked at the qualifications of six people who applied for the position. But they also went deeper, Moran added.

“We looked to the community support of each of the individuals,” he said.

Andy Dunklin, an unsuccessful two-time candidate for Smith County sheriff, owns Pressure Clean of Tyler. He’s a former Texas Department of Public Safety sergeant and director of security for Mother Frances Hospital.

Todd Thoene is an investigator with the Smith County District Attorney’s office who ran unsuccessfully against Creath. In the March primary, Creath received 4,361 votes, or 56.6 percent. Thoene received 3,348 votes, or 43.3 percent of the vote.

Glenn Potter is Precinct 2 chief deputy constable. He’s also served as an officer for the Whitehouse Police Department.

In June, Smith County commissioners appointed retired Department of Public Safety Sgt. Paul Fisher to complete Creath’s unexpired term, which ends in January. Fisher isn’t seeking the position beyond January.

The other applicants for the position were Charles Carver, Natalie Jay and Tom Beard.