Tarrant County’s Republican commissioners voted Wednesday to start the process of redrawing county commissioners’ precincts — a move that came with intense opposition from Democrats.
Republican Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare put the redistricting item on the agenda for Wednesday’s commissioners court meeting. That alarmed Democrats, who say O’Hare wants to redraw the boundaries of Democratic County Commissioner Alisa Simmons’ precinct before she’s up for reelection next year.
At Wednesday’s meeting, Simmons criticized the redistricting effort as an attempt to dilute the voting power of the majority-minority precincts she and Democratic Commissioner Roderick Miles Jr. represent.
“This matter demands our utmost scrutiny, since its implications extend far beyond a simple contractual agreement,” she said.
Commissioners voted 3-2, Republicans against Democrats, to hire the Public Interest Legal Foundation to look at redistricting the county and draw potential maps.
Republican Commissioner Manny Ramirez said redistricting is long overdue.
“As the first and only Hispanic county commissioner ever elected to the dais, I struggle to find out how my vote is diluted by rebalancing population precinct lines,” he said.
Ramirez said in a statement Tuesday the precincts are unbalanced by population. Simmons told reporters Wednesday they are not. KERA News has asked the county administrator’s office to clarify what the population is for each precinct.
The law prohibits population differences of more than 10% between precincts, according to Harris County’s redistricting page.
Commissioners usually look at redistricting after the U.S. Census every 10 years. In 2021, former Tarrant County commissioners decided against redrawing the precincts, because the 2020 Census showed they were still balanced, despite the county’s growth.
Simmons said it is a waste of time and money to go through the redistricting process again four years later.
“In 2031, go for it,” she said.
Previous commissioners should have redistricted in 2021, Ramirez said.
“This court was elected to take action,” he said.
The Tarrant County Commissioners Court includes four commissioners who represent a particular precinct, and a county judge who represents the entire county.
Republican County Judge Tim O’Hare brought the agenda item to Wednesday’s meeting, and he said he’s the one who picked the law firm to guide the process. The Public Interest Legal Foundation is a conservative firm that "exists to assist states and others to aid the cause of election integrity and fight against lawlessness in American elections,” according to its website.
The firm’s claims about elections have been discredited in the past. In one case, the firm posted the names of people it claimed were immigrants illegally on the voter rolls, but the list included U.S. citizens.
KERA News has reached out to the Public Interest Legal Foundation to request an interview about what the redistricting process could look like.
O’Hare said this is just the beginning, and the public will have a chance to weigh in on any maps the Public Interest Legal Foundation makes.
The Tarrant County GOP encouraged its supporters to show up to Wednesday’s meeting in support of redistricting. The Tarrant County Democratic Party told people to speak against the measure.
There were 77 people signed up to speak, according to O’Hare, who limited their speaking time to one minute each.
Some people in favor of redistricting said they wanted it because they don’t like their current commissioner. Roger DeFrang of Arlington is represented by Simmons, and he wants “profanity out of the dais,” he said. Simmons has previously cussed at meetings.
“I want change in this precinct, because I’ve been a resident. I’m not happy with the representation I have,” he said.
Several supporters of redistricting pointed to the shape of Precinct 1, which they say has been gerrymandered. Precinct 1 covers southwest Tarrant County and stretches north and eastward through Fort Worth.
“I think any conversation where there are accusations of gerrymandering must begin with the current map,” said Julie McCarty, CEO of the True Texas Project.
Conservatives won control of county government, and the best way to preserve the county is to fix the map, McCarty said, pointing to Tarrant County’s rapid growth since the last redistricting.
Precinct 1 has long been represented by a Democrat. Miles was elected in 2024, taking over from his boss, Roy Charles Brooks, who was commissioner for 20 years.
Precinct 2, which Simmons represents, flipped Democrat in 2018 when former commissioner Devan Allen beat the incumbent Republican commissioner, Andy Nguyen. Nugyen ran for the seat again in 2022 but lost that race to Simmons.
Linda Hanratty pointed out the last map was approved by a Commissioners Court that also had a Republican majority.
“If they’re gerrymandered, they did it,” she said.
Deannise Allen said she’s a Republican who has voted for both O’Hare and Krause, but she came to oppose redistricting outside the usual 10-year schedule.
“What is the motive to redistrict now?” she asked.
Any redistricting process has to happen with transparency and time for community input, said Commissioner Miles, who represents Precinct 1.
“It is our job to represent all of the residents of Tarrant County. Not the ones that agree with us only, but every resident, and to take their input and their voices and involve them in the process,” he said. “And this process, the way it was presented, does not give them the ample time to be a participant in it.”
Miles made his own suggestion: Put the redistricting plan up for a request for proposal, or RFP. RFPs are how the county finds contractors for projects. They post the project and take bids from companies interested in completing it. In this situation, other law firms could make their case for why they should run the process.
“If we will spend money for an RFP for sprinkler systems, the least we can do is put out an RFP for something that will impact everybody in this room,” Miles said.
In a statement after the vote, Simmons called the decision “a clear act of intentional discrimination.”
“The current commissioner precincts were ratified properly in 2021 after careful consideration by the Commissioners Court at that time,” she said. “They accurately reflect the racial makeup and political behavior of Tarrant County. The contention that they should be changed now is a fraud being sold to the citizens of our county.”
The first phase of the redistricting process could cost up to $30,000, according to the legal services agreement with the Public Interest Legal Foundation. The agreement does not include a timeline for the firm’s work.
Got a tip? Email Miranda Suarez at msuarez@kera.org.
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