More than 150 people packed a room at the Como Community Center in Fort Worth Wednesday night, mostly to criticize the county’s controversial redistricting process and the public hearing itself.
In April, Tarrant County’s Republican commissioners pushed for an unusual mid-decade redistricting process. They outvoted Democrats 3-2 to hire a conservative law firm to rethink the map of the four commissioners' precincts. Democrats accused Republicans of wanting to redraw the map in their favor, while Republicans have argued redistricting is overdue.
Precinct 1 Commissioner Roderick Miles Jr. and community members said the meeting on Wednesday — the second of four scheduled public hearings about the process — was not to consider the public’s opinion about the proposed maps.
"It is a performance, an orchestrated show meant to check a box, not to hear a community,” Miles said.
The commissioners court precinct maps usually get redrawn after the U.S. Census every 10 years. A previous set of commissioners — also Republican-majority — decided to leave the map unchanged after the 2020 Census.
All five of the proposed maps would reshape the two Democrat-controlled precincts in southern Tarrant County, giving Republicans the edge in Arlington’s Precinct 2, according to voting data shared by the county.
Simmons previously told KERA News she couldn't win her precinct again if any of the proposed maps go into effect. Simmons and two Republicans, Commissioner Manny Ramirez and County Judge Tim O’Hare, are up for reelection next year. O’Hare represents the entire county, not a precinct.
Dozens of people spoke at Wednesday night’s meeting, which lasted three hours. Most of them criticized the redistricting effort, calling it an attempt to weaken Black and Hispanic voting power. Miles told KERA News the maps pack people of color into his precinct.
If one of the proposed maps passes, “Tarrant County would be known as one of the most racist counties in this country,” Precinct 1 resident Blake Moorman said.
“There’s no criteria given why the maps are drawn the way they are. Why is that? Because they were drawn with the intent to target the Black and brown populations of Precincts 1 and 2, and that is against the law,” he said.
Aaron James, another speaker, waved off the assertion that redistricting is based on race.
"This idea that it’s a racial thing – you guys just need to squash that,” he said to boos from the crowd. “I’ll tell you right now, you can keep calling race and creating a divide between your neighbors, but we get so much more done when we work together.”
People also criticized Republican Commissioner Manny Ramirez for not being present at Tuesday’s redistricting hearing in his precinct.
“The silence of those who are representing you is deafening. It’s sending a clear message that you’re not important. Your opinion doesn’t matter,” Miles said.
Ramirez was in Washington D.C. to honor the late Sgt. Billy Randolph, a Fort Worth police officer whose name was being added to the National Law Enforcement Memorial, Ramirez’s chief of staff Tracey Knight told the Fort Worth Report.
Ramirez voted in favor of the redistricting process. He previously said the precincts are out of balance in terms of population and should be as close to even as possible.
Tarrant County’s rapid growth makes redistricting necessary, Debra Navratil said at Wednesday’s meeting. She told the crowd that people will have a voice in elections no matter what.
“This country is a republic. In a republic, it is the people that rule regardless of the lines drawn on a map,” she said.
Previous commissioners didn’t redraw the map after the 2020 Census because the precincts were balanced by population. Census data compiled by the law firm that ran Tarrant County’s last redistricting process showed the overall population deviation between precincts was about 2%. The rule of thumb is to keep it below 10%.
The proposed maps do seem to shrink the deviation between precincts even more, but precincts that look even on paper probably deviate in real life, according to Bob Heath, an attorney who helped draw Tarrant County’s previous maps.
The Census is never perfect, and now it’s five years old, he told KERA News earlier this month.
“Are those districts exactly in balance? Probably not, but that's as good as we're going to get," Heath said.
Tarrant County resident Rebecca Maples said that's a reason to hold off on redistricting.
“They're using old data. They should wait for the 2030 Census,” she said.
The county hired a conservative law firm, the Public Interest Legal Foundation, to shepherd the redistricting process. PILF attorney Samuel Swanson was present at the meeting but stood in a back doorway. Members of the crowd called for him to come inside. Some people chanted “We want Sam!”
Miles told Swanson there was a seat up front for him and invited him to enter multiple times. He did not.
"Although you are outside the room, we thank you for being here. At least you showed up. Let’s move forward,” Miles said.
Swanson did come in later, standing against a back wall. He never addressed the crowd or answered questions. He declined to speak to reporters.
There are two more public hearings about redistricting this month:
- May 17, 2025, 10 a.m. Arlington Subcourthouse, 700 East Abram Street, Arlington.
- May 21, 2025, 6 p.m., Gary Fickes Northeast Courthouse, 645 Grapevine Hwy, Hurst.
Got a tip? Email Miranda Suarez at msuarez@kera.org.
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