Candidate Q&A

What is the top issue facing your township that you think you would have the power to address as constable?

One of the top issues facing Center Township is the impact of our city’s eviction crisis and ensuring that the Constable’s Office carries out its responsibilities with professionalism, compassion, efficiency, and fairness.

Indianapolis consistently ranks among the nation’s highest-eviction communities. According to Princeton University’s Eviction Lab, approximately 23,500 eviction cases were filed in Indianapolis during the past 12 months, representing a filing rate of roughly 13% of renter households. Those numbers remind us that behind every writ and court order are real people families, children, seniors, property owners, and individuals experiencing difficult circumstances.
As Constable, I cannot change Indiana’s landlord-tenant laws or overturn orders issued by the courts. What I can control is how our office serves people and executes those orders. We can ensure the process is professional, respectful, safe, consistent, and humane while fulfilling our legal responsibilities.

Our office has also faced significant scrutiny over the years. Since taking office, we have been on a journey of healing, restoration, and rebuilding public trust. That has meant strengthening accountability, improving operations, modernizing procedures, and creating a culture focused on service.

One example has been modernizing several of our forms and processes so residents, landlords, attorneys, and property managers can access services more conveniently online. At the same time, modernization cannot mean leaving people behind. We continue to provide personal assistance for seniors, residents without computers or smartphones, and anyone who needs help navigating our processes.

Ultimately, I believe the Constable’s Office can demonstrate that enforcing the law and treating people with dignity are not competing responsibilities. We can do both and that is the standard I am working to establish in Center Township.

What role does a good constable play in township government?

I believe a good constable should be more than an elected official who serves court papers and executes court orders. A good constable should be an accessible, visible, and trusted public servant who understands that we serve people not just paperwork.
Accessibility is extremely important to me. I work to make myself available by attending neighborhood meetings, community events, churches, schools, festivals, public safety events, and other gatherings throughout Center Township. I also use social media and other communication tools to keep residents informed and give people opportunities to engage directly with me. Sometimes accessibility is as simple as answering a question, returning a phone call, listening to a concern, or making sure someone knows where to go for help.

A good constable must also show up for the community. I believe people should see their elected officials outside of election season. That is why I regularly participate in community events, support neighborhood initiatives, attend programs hosted by local organizations, engage with young people, and work alongside other elected officials, law enforcement agencies, nonprofits, faith leaders, and community partners.

Most importantly, a good constable should serve with empathy. Our duties often bring us into contact with people during some of the most difficult moments of their lives. Whether we are dealing with an eviction, serving legal documents, assisting a senior, interacting with a property owner, or simply answering a resident’s question, people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.

While the Constable’s Office cannot solve every problem, we can help connect people to resources and organizations that may be able to assist them. Sometimes the best service we can provide is listening, identifying the need, and helping someone find the right resource.

Ultimately, I believe a good constable plays three roles in township government: enforcing the law, serving the people, and building trust. My goal is to make sure the Center Township Constable’s Office does all three with professionalism, accessibility, compassion, and empathy.

One issue we hear consistently is that people aren’t properly served. What efforts would you make to serve legal paperwork to people?

Proper service of legal paperwork is one of the most fundamental responsibilities of the Constable’s Office. If we do not get that right, it can impact court proceedings, property owners, tenants, and most importantly, the public’s trust in our office.
That is why I believe accountability has to start with me. I personally go into the field with our Deputy Constables to observe the service process firsthand and make sure our policies, procedures, and professional standards are being followed. I do not believe an elected Constable should simply sit behind a desk and assume everything is working correctly, I want to see our operations for myself.

We have also established protocols to better track court paperwork. Our office identifies which Deputy has been assigned each set of court papers, allowing us to know who is responsible for a particular document, follow up on outstanding paperwork, and address issues when something has not been returned or served in a timely manner.

Accountability also means listening to the people we serve. I personally follow up with landlords and property managers to survey their experiences with our office. Their feedback helps us identify what is working, where communication may have broken down, and where improvements are needed.

I also recognize that sometimes we miss the mark. Deputies become ill, get injured, or experience unexpected circumstances that require us to make last-minute adjustments to assignments. Those situations can sometimes result in delays in process service. When that happens, we take responsibility for it rather than make excuses. We work to communicate with the court and the plaintiff when issues arise, reassign paperwork when necessary, and get service back on track as quickly as possible.

We continue to reinforce expectations around proper service, documentation, timely returns, and accurate reporting of service attempts. When a document cannot be served, there should be a clear record of the attempts that were made and what happened.

My goal is simple: every paper should be accounted for, every legitimate service attempt should be documented, and every Deputy including me should be accountable. We may not always get everything perfect, but we can be transparent when we fall short, correct the problem, and continuously improve the service we provide to the courts and the residents of Center Township.

How would you vet deputy constables?

Vetting Deputy Constables has been one of the top priorities of my administration, particularly considering some of the challenges this office has experienced in the past. Deputy Constables are entrusted with significant authority and regularly interact with residents during sensitive and sometimes difficult situations. Because of that, simply submitting an application is not enough.

We have worked to build a more comprehensive hiring and vetting process that includes federal, state, and local background checks, drug screening, structured onboarding, field training, and clear Standard Operating Procedures that establish expectations for conduct and performance.

Every applicant is also required to provide at least three professional references, including at least one active Indiana law enforcement officer. We have active members of local law enforcement participate in our hiring process so that applicants are evaluated by experienced professionals who understand the responsibilities, temperament, judgment, and integrity required of a law enforcement officer.

Our background process goes beyond checking criminal records. We also review publicly available social media and news reports as part of our due diligence. We want to identify potential concerns involving an applicant’s judgment, conduct, integrity, or ability to represent the office professionally before we entrust that individual with a badge and authority.

Most importantly, the vetting process does not end when someone is hired. Field training, supervision, policies, accountability, and ongoing evaluation are all part of the process. I believe we have a responsibility to know not only who we are bringing into the office, but also how they perform once they are serving the public.
No hiring process can guarantee that an individual will never make a mistake, but we can establish strong safeguards. My goal is to ensure that every Deputy Constable we appoint has been thoroughly vetted, properly trained, understands our expectations, and recognizes that wearing our badge is a privilege that comes with tremendous responsibility to the people of Center Township.