For your consideration: Pct. 1 Constable’s race

GONZALES — The position of constable is a full-time job. Their main duties are to be the civil processor for the county by serving papers in legal disputes. 

Upon the news that current Precinct 1 Constable Ken Hedrick was retiring after many years of service, two men decided to give elected office a try and run in the March 1 primary. Both are Republicans who desire to preside over the district that runs from Gonzales out to the county lines north and east of here. 

Scott Rhodes, 48, is a relative newcomer to the area but insists that his current job and future intentions will keep him here for a long time to come.

“I have almost 17 years in law enforcement as a master peace officer,” said Rhodes. “And I just figured it’s kind of my next step and will hopefully be able to stay there until I retire.”

He hopes to follow in the paths of past constables who have made a career out of serving the people of their precinct.

Rhodes was born in Virginia and served in the Navy for four years as part of the aerospace medical school. He was stationed in Kingsville and moved to San Antonio after his service where he completed police academy. His law enforcement career began there and he also spent time as a K9 handler in the Austin ISD police force.

In 2013, Rhodes wanted to get away from the city, so he purchased a house in Ottine and began working for the Gonzales County Sheriff’s Office as a full-time patrol deputy. He also made history, becoming the first-ever city marshal for the City of Smiley.

“I built that department from scratch whenever they hired me,” he said. “They weren’t a department at all.”

The marshal’s office differs from that of a city police office in that they are only set up to handle Class C misdemeanors, traffic enforcement and serving papers. The bigger crimes are still investigated by the sheriff’s office but the city marshal is there to provide a safety asset to the community and to assist the sheriff’s office whenever possible.

“It’s helped them a lot,” Rhodes said. “They seem to be really happy about it so far. They see the car driving around and it helps detour people from doing anything [illegal].”

It took the county almost a year to get the marshal’s office approved, but it was commissioned last April. It now has a reserve marshal to help out the part-time Rhodes, who enjoys his other job and duties.

“On my days off I do the city marshal stuff down there,” he said. “And I do funeral escorts on my motorcycle from time to time down in San Antonio.”

But being a constable is a full-time occupation. If Rhodes were to win the job, he would resign his sheriff’s office gig and might have to give up his marshal duties if he can’t find the time. If elected, he looks to add a deputy to his office to help out not only him, but the rest of the county.

“If I can have a deputy, that’s just going to give us more coverage. If the county needs help, if the city needs help, that’s just one extra person there that’s going to be available to help back the other agencies up. Plus, to help with everything in that office itself,” Rhodes said.

“I’m hoping to help grow it and expand if we can,” he explained. “I think that I could make it a pretty steady position and even actually grow it and do more than what’s being done now. There’s a lot out there to do.”

Though he may be a new face to residents, he thinks that he has proven himself by his work ethic at the sheriff’s office. Take a look at his reports, he said, and you will see that he has some of the top progress report numbers in the department and he is in the upper percentage in a lot of areas. That’s why he thinks he deserves your vote.

“I’m honest. I work hard. I believe in what I’m doing,” he said. “This is what I want to do. I’ve been doing it for 17 years and it’s what I want to do until I retire. And I just think I would be the right person for the job.”

And the key to winning, he said, is to put up a lot of signs and greet as many voters as he can.

“I’m just going to go out and meet the people, go door to door, go out and meet people and shake hands. That’s how you get those votes,” Rhodes said.