Tarrant County commissioners heard from residents who both condemned and celebrated the county鈥檚 new proposed political maps at their meeting Tuesday.
Last month, Tarrant County鈥檚 Republican commissioners outvoted the Democrats 3-2 to start an unusual mid-decade redistricting process. would largely reshape the two Democratic precincts, Precincts 1 and 2, making them more favorable to Republicans,
Precinct 2 Commissioner Alisa Simmons says Republicans are trying to draw her out of her seat before she鈥檚 up for reelection next year. In a Fort Worth Star-Telegram op-ed Monday, argued redistricting is necessary to solidify consistent, conservative control over county government.
Republicans are achieving their goal by splitting up communities of color and throwing those voters into a single precinct, diluting their voting power, Democratic Precinct 1 Commissioner Roderick Miles Jr. said at Tuesday鈥檚 commissioners court meeting.
鈥淲e cannot build stronger communities by cracking them apart or packing their voices into silence,鈥� he said.
Some of the proposed maps would remove Lake Como, a historic Black community, from Miles鈥� precinct 鈥� a result he said would be unacceptable.
The Como residents who spoke at the meeting urged commissioners to drop the effort. Ella Burton referenced that used to separate Como from the white Ridglea neighborhood next door.
鈥淚've seen brick walls come down, but I've seen invisible walls go up,鈥� she said.
Each commissioner represents one geographic precinct, except for the county judge, who represents the entire county.
happens at the local, county, state and national level, usually after the Census every 10 years. Maps have to be redrawn to make sure the population is relatively even between political districts.
After the last Census in 2020, a previous set of Tarrant County commissioners decided to leave the map unchanged because there was little population deviation between the precincts 鈥� about 2%.
When Republicans started the redistricting process again in April, local Democrats sounded the alarm. Hundreds of people have attended recent town hall meetings, where many opponents to redistricting accused Republicans of gerrymandering 鈥� or redrawing the maps to benefit themselves.
Supporters of the process say redistricting will improve the county鈥檚 political representation.
The redistricting process is always political, and both parties use it to their advantage, according to experts. That happened in Harris County, when Democrats Houston Public Media reported.
In his op-ed, Commissioner Ramirez pointed to that as an example for why Tarrant County needs another Republican-leaning precinct. To Ramirez, Democratic leadership has hurt Harris County.
鈥淭hese changes were followed by rising taxes, budget instability and growing public safety challenges 鈥� costly distractions from the core responsibilities of county government,鈥� Ramirez wrote.
Political watchers look at Tarrant 鈥� which is unusually conservative for a large, urban county 鈥� as Ramirez acknowledged that people who want to see Tarrant flip solid blue are frustrated with redistricting.
鈥淭his process isn鈥檛 about denying anyone representation, gaining power or stacking the deck,鈥� he wrote. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about ensuring we continue to have steady, effective leadership that prioritizes results over rhetoric and policies that work over political theater.鈥�
Ramirez denied that race has been a consideration in mapmaking, and supporters of redistricting at Tuesday鈥檚 meeting criticized the idea that the process is racist.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 see this as racial gerrymandering. I see this as partisan gerrymandering,鈥� Tim Moloney said.
鈥淚 detest the thought that drawing a line on a map has anything to do with race,鈥� Jolyn Potenza said.
Mapmakers are allowed to take race into account, experts previously told 四虎影院. It just can鈥檛 be the only consideration.
The Voting Rights Act also bans . That might look like packing a disproportionate number of Black voters into one district or cracking apart a Latino community into multiple districts to dilute their vote.
A lawsuit goes to trial this week that will determine whether the state Legislature discriminated against Latinos in Dallas and Tarrant counties when redrawing maps in 2021, .
Simmons has said she is considering a lawsuit if one of the proposed Tarrant County maps takes effect.
The fight over redistricting has spilled over to other local governments in Tarrant County. The Fort Worth City Council voted 6-4 along party lines in a vote on Tuesday. One member was absent.
Arlington Mayor Jim Ross asked city staff for an investigation into whether the process is legal. He told residents at a hearing on Saturday to expect results this week.
There is , at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Gary Fickes Northeast Courthouse in Hurst.
A final vote on a new map is expected at the commissioners court meeting on June 3, according to Simmons.
Got a tip? Email Miranda Suarez at msuarez@kera.org.
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