Pirkle: Career, familiarity makes him the best choice

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GONZALES — We are within a month of the March 1 primary that will shape many elected offices for years to come in Gonzales County. On Election Day, one man will walk away as the new constable for Precinct 1 as incumbent Ken Hedrick is retiring after many years on the job.

Between the two men running on the Republican ticket, Leslie Pirkle says that his experience in the county should give him the winning advantage.

“I’ve always liked his position,” said Pirkle, 67, of Hedrick. “I always told him I would never run against him. But I told him whenever he did [retire] that I was interested in the job.”

Pirkle says that he has worked with the constable many times over the last 25 years and knows what it would take to continue the service that Hedrick has provided.

“I think I’d like to do the job,” Pirkle said. “Can you take his place? No. You can do the job but you can’t take his place.”

The Gonzales native points to his hometown roots as his benefit. After being drafted into the Army — where he spent 20 years, including a tour in Vietnam — he went to the police academy and joined the Gonzales Police Department in 1989. After more than 8 years there he took a position at the Gonzales County Sheriff’s Office as a transport officer and has been there ever since. Now, he thinks it is time he give a shot at constable.

“I have a very significant amount of hours in training,” he said. “I have a master peace officer’s license.” 

“Basically I know almost everyone in the county,” he said. “I get along with most of them. And I feel that I can work with the citizens of Precinct 1 and have a successful career there.”

Asked about what he would change, he says there isn’t much you can do in the way of alterations to civil processing because those rules are pretty much set in stone. But he does see the need for a deputy to assist the constable in his duties across the sprawling precinct.

“The only thing I might try to do is to see about getting a reserve constable because we need a little more help out there on the streets,” Pirkle said. 

Other than that, he would follow the rules and treat everyone with respect. 

“You don’t want to do something for someone that you wouldn’t do for anybody else,” he said.

When asked to recall a major accomplishment in his career, he points to a time when he assisted a young woman who had fallen into drugs. Seeing her turn her life around her thanking him for it years later solidified his belief in what he does for the county and the good that law enforcement can and should provide.

Now for the next few weeks, you can probably see him beating the streets and back roads looking for those votes that would put him over the top on Election Day.

“I’ve just been talking to people on the street and putting signs out,” he said. “People know me. If they’re going to vote for me they’re going to vote for me and if they’re not, they’re not.” 

He figures that regardless of what happens, it will all depend on the voters’ mood on March 1 when they enter their polling place. 

“Their vote would be greatly appreciated,” he said. 

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