Chris Roberts

Editor’s Note: This is part of a series of stories on contested county races in the March 2022 primaries.

Three Republican candidates are seeking to replace former Smith County Pct. 2 Constable Joshua Black in the March primary.

Black was found guilty in September of using his position to request sexual favors from a woman who was asking for supervised visitation with her child. He sentenced to six months in the Smith County Jail, fined $4,000 and removed from office.

Shawn Scott, a retired law enforcement officer, has served as interim constable.

Wayne Allen, Deal Folmar and Chris Roberts, each with law enforcement backgrounds, are seeking the position.

The Pct. 2 constable covers parts of south Tyler, Noonday, Flint/Gresham and part of Bullard.

Wayne Allen

For 28 years, Allen worked for the Tyler Police Department. He said during that time, he often considered running for a county office in which he could better serve the community.

When Black was arrested, he said he “felt a stirring to get back into law enforcement.”

Allen said, at first, running for constable didn’t seem financially feasible, but he spoke about it with his wife and God. He said he knew he was going to run when at church one day, his pastor said, “Don’t ever let it be about the money.”

For the past three years, Allen has been district manager at Home Depot where he supervises more than 1,000 associates, he said.

He said working in law enforcement is “not a job, it’s a calling.”

Allen said he has worked in numerous areas, including patrol, background investigations, traffic, financial crime investigations and more. He added that he was one of the officers on scene in 2005 during the Smith County Courthouse shooting.

If elected, Allen said he would “be there for the public, doing the job that the constable is supposed to do and restoring integrity, transparency and professionalism to the office.”

He added that many children look up to law enforcement, and seeing these officials on the news after being arrested has a negative impact. Allen said restoring the image of this position is important to him.

“I’m not running for money. It’s not gonna be for any kind of selfish ambitions at all,” he said. “It’s just to return to serving the community and doing a job that I absolutely loved doing for 28 years with the city of Tyler.”

Deal Folmar

“With my experience, I am ready on Day 1 to manage the operations of the constable’s office,” Folmar said.

In October 2019, Folmar retired after 37 years as a chief deputy for the Smith County Sheriff’s Office and is a Master Peace Officer. He began working at the sheriff’s office in 1983 and has lived in Pct. 2 for more than 28 years, he said.

He said he served in all areas of county law enforcement, including civil process, patrol, criminal investigation division, jail administrator and more. Folmar added that he is also accustomed to administrative duties such as courtroom budget preparation, grant preparation and commissioners court presentations.

Folmar is active in the Smith County and East Texas Peace Officer Associations and has served as president for both. He added he also enjoys serving the community through organizations such as the East Texas Food Bank, Saint Paul’s Children’s Foundation and the Child Advocacy Center.

His activity in the community and past experience is “a big asset of running the operations of the constable’s office,” Folmar said.

With his knowledge in law enforcement and county government, he believes he would be a good fit for the position.

Folmar said he looks to make the Pct. 2 constable’s office more active in the community and maintain a positive image.

As Pct. 2 constable, he said he would serve the residents of Smith County with honesty and integrity.

Chris Roberts

Roberts said he is a Master Peace Officer and has been licensed for 25 years. He also has served as reserve deputy constable in Pct. 2 for the past seven years.

He added that in his experience, he has become familiar with the office and the employees, preparing him to be “immediately effective upon election.”

Roberts also has owned his business, Assured Insulating, for more than 11 years. With his business being secure right now, Roberts said he is ready to serve his community.

“I don’t need a job; I don’t need a paycheck. I’m doing it because I want to serve,” he said.

Along with his law enforcement experience, owning a successful business has taught him how to work with budgets, payrolls and people, Roberts said. If elected, he said he could bring his business experience to the office to help with areas such as budgets.

“In business, you want to provide the best product you can at the cheapest price,” he said. “With the constable’s office, my product is law enforcement service, and I want to provide the best possible service.”

If elected, Roberts said he would make sure to always be a call away for the people and serve as a resource to the public, Bullard Police Department, Tyler Police Department and the county.

“Just like I’ve said in my business commercials for years, my doors are always open and my phone is always on,” he said. “All you have to do is give me a call.”