Gabe Rivas, a former staffer for Democrat Alisa Simmons, is running for her seat as Precinct 2 commissioner in Tarrant County.
Simmons, who has not filed for or announced plans to seek reelection, did not respond to a KERA News phone call or voicemail requesting comment.
Rivas filed for election Monday, he said. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram first reported his bid Monday evening.
Rivas announced Tuesday that he has endorsements from around 50 people, including former State Representatives Victoria Neave Criado and Lon Burnam, Celina Vasquez of the Democratic National Convention Hispanic Caucus and nine others who have held, currently hold or are running for elected office.
His mother, State Rep. Terry Meza, is also listed among Rivas' endorsements.
Rivas has worked in public service and politics for the past 20 years and with candidates and elected officials for the last three. He told KERA News in a phone call Tuesday that running for office was the next logical step.
“I just see this as a continuation of the work I’ve been doing in the community, advocating for the residents of Tarrant County and continuing the outreach at a new county level,” he said on the call.
One important task if he is elected would be helping residents understand changes brought about by the county’s mid-decade redistricting, Rivas said.
“We have a county that's not just an urban county, but it also has some rural areas, also has some suburban areas," Rivas said. “I think one of the biggest challenges that we're going to face as a county is making sure that we can address the needs of all our residents and not just certain segments of it."
Road and bridge maintenance is one problem Rivas said he knows will need to be addressed. After redistricting, Rivas said Precinct 2 has more roads and bridges in unincorporated Tarrant County. This means there is no city to handle regular maintenance of these roads, and it falls to the county.
The number of deaths at the Tarrant County Jail are also a concern, he said. Around 80 people have died in jail custody since Sheriff Bill Waybourn took office in 2016.
He said that’s not acceptable, especially when someone in the jail dies of an overdose or a preventable illness. Rivas said a part of the solution will be fighting for more funding for the jail.
Rivas will also advocate for better care for people in the jail with mental health issues and for bail reform on the local level so that suspects being detained on less than $500 bond don’t have to sit in the jail waiting for trial.
Replacing the Mansfield Sub-Courthouse will also be high on Rivas’ agenda, he said. The building plays a vital role in the county’s operations in Mansfield and surrounding communities, housing a justice of the peace court, vehicle registration services, representatives of the county clerk and a polling location during elections.
The building is too small and in disrepair, though, Rivas said, echoing a concern Simmons has shared several times in her time as the Precinct 2 commissioner.
Simmons has not spoken publicly about Rivas’ bid for her seat on the commissioners court and Rivas said he can’t speak for Simmons when it comes to endorsements, but he doesn’t believe he’ll be running against her in the Democratic primary.
“I'm fairly sure that she has other plans, although I can't speak for those and I'll let her speak for herself as far as what her plans for future in office is,” Rivas said.
The current representative for Precinct 2, Simmons has previously expressed suspicion that the county’s redistricting was an intentional effort to ensure she wouldn’t win reelection. Simmons has been an outspoken opponent to many actions by Republicans on the court, including redistricting.
Two lawsuits filed against the county alleging racial gerrymandering in this year's redistrict, one in federal court and the other in a district court, have been dropped or dismissed.
Republican Tony Tinderholt, a former state lawmaker representing much of Arlington and part of Fort Worth, previously announced he's running for the Precinct 2 seat.
Simmons is scheduled to make what her website calls "an exciting announcement" at 10:30 a.m. Saturday in Arlington.
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