Allen has a lot of opposition -- but plenty of money.

Constable Jack Allen is facing yet another challenge to his controversial 14-year reign in northwest Tarrant County. This time, three veteran law-enforcement officers are jockeying to oust him in the Republican primary election March 9.

Finding a common theme among his challengers is easy.

"A lot of people have approached me in Precinct 4 and said they wanted a change and that there is not as much integrity in that office as there should be," said Ralph Clemons, a Tarrant County sheriff's deputy making his first run at public office.

Another neophyte politician is Saginaw police officer Eddie Burton. "Integrity needs to be brought back to the constable's office," he said.

Former U.S. Marshal Dub Bransom sounds as if he hired the same speechwriter: "I'm going to bring professionalism and dignity back to the constable's office."

Integrity, dignity, professionalism -- these words are seldom used to describe Allen, whose various indiscretions were featured in a Fort Worth Weekly cover story ("You Don't Know Jack," Jan. 23, 2003). He has bulled his way into one contentious situation after another, including accusations of sexual and racial discrimination and of favoring people who give money to his political campaigns while punishing some who don't. In 2002, his peace officer's license lapsed, causing about 30 tickets he had written to be dismissed and the fines returned. County attorneys, at taxpayer expense, have had to defend him on several occasions. Last year, Tarrant County paid $27,500 to settle a lawsuit filed against Allen by a former secretary. Currently, the constable is battling another lawsuit from a former deputy, who claims he was fired after accusing Allen of stealing a box of shirts during a property seizure. Allen said he handed out the shirts to homeless people and didn't profit.

For 11 years he has hosted the annual Jack Allen Stump & Divot Golf Tournament. In conversation, Allen often refers to it as his "golf tournament for kids," and his brochures focus on his scholarships and charitable work in the community. The tournament is not set up as a nonprofit organization, however, and despite assurances to donors that his focus is on helping youth, Allen can spend the money as he pleases.

The Weekly story from 2003 described how his golf tournament funneled less than $5,000 to youth groups, out of more than $35,000 raised in the previous two years. That's less than 15 percent of the gross, a percentage that prompted the director of an Austin-based government watchdog group to characterize Allen as unethical.

A year later, little has changed. The bulk of his campaign money is raised during the October golf tournament. His most recent campaign finance report, filed in January, lists $12,618 in contributions and $10,762 in expenditures from July 1 to Dec. 31, 2003. About $2,500 was spent on charity donations and scholarships. The rest was used to pay for parties, association dues, newspaper subscriptions, and assorted campaign costs, including almost $400 worth of "Jack Allen" nail files purchased on Dec. 5.

Add to that a series of bizarre, embarrassing rows with Fort Worth police officers, his tendency to show preferential treatment toward wrecking companies and bail bonds operators who donate to his campaign, a reputation for being vindictive to critics, and his well-known feud with Pct. 4 Justice of the Peace Jacquelyn Wright, and it's not surprising that challengers have lined up against him.

Like a cat with nine lives, Allen has typically landed on his feet despite previous challenges and controversies. However, the results of a recent random drawing might serve as a signal that Allen's luck is changing. On Jan. 13, the Precinct 4 constable candidates met at Fort Worth Botanic Gardens to determine the ballot order for the primary election. Being first on the ballot can provide an edge.

"People tend to look at the first name," said Karen Holmgren, primary administrator at Tarrant County Republican Party headquarters. "Candidates want the first spot if they can get it."

The incumbent got to choose first, and Allen sent a representative, a friend's daughter, to draw for him, saying he expected her to bring him luck. The ploy didn't work, and the girl's selection placed Allen last on the ballot.

Clemons' name will be first. "I was ecstatic," he said.

Clemons is livestock enforcement officer for the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office, where he has worked for 10 years, eight as a deputy and two years as a jailer. He is a longtime Precinct 4 resident and an active and popular community member, but his Achilles heel is a lack of the political savvy that could be important in unseating Allen, an incumbent with an abundance of campaign money and deep community ties of his own. "I'm new at all this, and I had this big idea that I could do it without any money," Clemons said. "I talked to a rancher out here, and he said, 'Son, don't be stupid -- you need money in Tarrant County to get elected to an office.'"

Clemons' January finance report showed $1,385 in contributions, enough to cover his $1,000 filing fee and some fund-raising supplies. "I'm trying to raise just enough to do what I have to do," he said. "I'm trying to prove it doesn't take all that money to run for office."

Campaigning on an even lower budget is Burton, who listed no contributions or expenses on his January finance report. He has since received a few donations and paid to have some signs printed, he said. A couple of days ago he spent hours hammering hundreds of his own signs to wooden stakes. Burton said the labor is a small price to pay to initiate a leadership change.

Allen "let his license be taken away from him, and everything he did during that time when his license was no good had to be redone at the taxpayers' expense," Burton said. "That kind of thing is what I'm talking about."

The office of constable is one of Texas' oldest law enforcement positions. They are empowered to write tickets and make arrests, but their stature has shriveled over the years as police and sheriff's departments have taken on more importance. Tarrant County commissioners encourage the county's eight constables to serve custody papers, evictions, citations to divorce, and property seizures, and to leave proactive law enforcement to city cops and county deputies.

"All the other law enforcement, traffic stuff, that is part of the job, but it should be secondary," Burton said. "Taxpayers are paying double for all that if the constables are doing it, along with the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office and the various municipalities."

Allen, who declined comment for this article, does things his own way. Former employees say Allen is proactive in law enforcement, such as serving warrants outside his precinct and making traffic stops, which makes him popular among wrecking companies and bail bonds operators who donate money to his campaigns. In his most recent campaign filing, a dozen different bail bonds operators donated a combined $3,545 -- about 28 percent of his total contributions.

Only one wrecking company is listed as a donor -- H&R Wrecker Service. That's not surprising; former employees said Allen insists that deputies call only H&R for towing service.

Perhaps Allen's highest-profile challenger is Bransom, a former River Oaks police chief with an extensive law enforcement resumé and community involvement. Still, some Republicans question his party loyalty. He is a former Democrat appointed by former President Clinton to be a U.S. marshal (he served from 1995 to 2002). Some Republican party members, most notably Allen, have accused him of switching parties simply to try to win the constable's position in a county with a Republican stronghold.

Bransom shrugs off his critics, saying party affiliation has little to do with law enforcement.

"You're looking for competency," he said.