Fort Worth City Council members voted 6-4 along partisan lines to oppose Tarrant County鈥檚 unusual mid-decade plan to redraw precinct lines, standing against the adoption of any map that would change the existing precincts.
鈥淲e鈥檙e standing not against Tarrant County 鈥� we鈥檙e standing for the residents of this county,鈥� council member Chris Nettles, a Democrat who initiated the proposal to oppose county redistricting, said immediately before voting during the council鈥檚 Tuesday meeting.
Nettles and fellow Democratic council members Elizabeth Beck, Carlos Flores, Jeanette Martinez, Deborah Peoples and Jared Williams voted in favor of adopting the resolution. Mayor Mattie Parker and Republican council members Alan Blaylock, Charlie Lauersdorf and Macy Hill voted against. Michael Crain, also a Republican, was absent.
Parker said she鈥檚 disappointed with the county鈥檚 process for redistricting so far, describing it as 鈥渄ivisive.鈥� She said she鈥檚 not necessarily opposed to redrawing precincts, but she is opposed to the process being used.
During the meeting, she said she couldn鈥檛 sign on to the resolution as written. She told council members she would work to draft a more 鈥渞obust鈥� resolution regarding redistricting in the future.
鈥淢y job is to govern and do what is best for the city of Fort Worth. I don鈥檛 think this (council proposal) is the right direction because I want to be really clear to Tarrant County where we are,鈥� Parker said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 my decision today, but it鈥檚 not a reflection of my displeasure with how they鈥檝e conducted redistricting in Tarrant County.鈥�
The council鈥檚 split stance on redistricting comes as Tarrant County commissioners prepare to adopt a new map of commissioner precincts in early June. As the council voted on the resolution May 20, the Commissioners Court heard updates on the redistricting process, with dozens of residents packing the meeting to speak in opposition.
The court has four commissioners, who each represent a precinct, while the county judge represents Tarrant overall.
Last month, the court鈥檚 three Republicans 鈥� Judge Tim O鈥橦are and commissioners Manny Ramirez and Matt Krause 鈥� outvoted Democratic commissioners Alisa Simmons and Roderick Miles Jr. to launch an unusual mid-decade redistricting process. Democrats have widely criticized the process as an attempt at racial gerrymandering to disenfranchise voters of color, while Republicans argue that redistricting is long overdue and needed to account for Tarrant鈥檚 rapid population growth.
Nettles that county redistricting would negatively impact infrastructure and transportation projects that require city and county collaboration. The resolution he introduced argued that the new maps would place several planned projects in multiple precincts, which Nettles believes would delay approval processes and potentially impact funding.
After the meeting, Nettles told the Report he felt disappointed the council didn鈥檛 reach a unanimous decision, but ultimately glad the resolution was adopted.
鈥淭he language was certainly there where we should have had a unanimous vote,鈥� Nettles said. 鈥淚t was about infrastructure projects and the residents of Fort Worth. It was not a partisan resolution.鈥�
Last week, Nettles, Beck, Williams, Martinez and Peoples requested the council take a formal vote to oppose county redistricting. As Democrats around the dais criticized the county鈥檚 鈥渞ushed鈥� process to redistrict, Lauersdorf and Parker criticized the process their colleagues used to initiate the council proposal. Hill and Blaylock did not comment on the resolution during the meeting.
Any council member may submit items, known as council proposals, to include as an action item for the council body to vote on during a meeting. To do so, they must get four other members to sign on in support.
鈥淚 do agree that there鈥檚 yet another issue with the process, and we seem to talk about that quite a bit as a body,鈥� Lauersdorf said during the meeting. 鈥淩ight now, my issue isn鈥檛 necessarily with the process with Tarrant County, it鈥檚 actually with this own body.鈥�
He said he got word Friday that Nettles initiated the proposal but never got a phone call to ask for assistance or support. He questioned the sincerity in proposing a 鈥渘onpartisan鈥� resolution without looping in Republican council members, a sentiment Parker echoed as she added that she hadn鈥檛 been contacted to sign on to the proposal, either.
She said she would have been able to add valuable insight to the drafted resolution, noting that she met with Arlington Mayor Jim Ross last week after he instructed the Arlington city attorney to review the legality of the county鈥檚 redistricting.
鈥淎 few things make me sad today. We鈥檝e said 鈥楧emocrat鈥� and 鈥楻epublican鈥� more times than I ever remember in this chamber, and as I have often said, it is irrelevant to city business. It really is,鈥� Parker said.
She told her colleagues she appreciated the council鈥檚 interest in taking a stance, but 鈥渋f we really want Tarrant County to listen, I don鈥檛 think this is the way to do that.鈥�
Lauersdorf said he鈥檚 been 鈥渢oo concerned鈥� about issues in his district such as street repairs, damage caused by egrets, stormwater property damage in Fossil Creek and the 2026 bond program to closely follow county redistricting efforts.
鈥淚鈥檝e been focused on the things with direct impact on District 4. Now you won鈥檛 hear about any of that in the news, I assure you because none of it is sexy,鈥� Lauersdorf said. 鈥淗owever, I was elected to represent the residents of District 4, so that鈥檚 where my focus has been, not on a council proposal that, quite frankly, at the end of the day, is not going to have an impact on what Tarrant County decides what to do or what not to do.鈥�
During the meeting, Nettles apologized to Lauersdorf for not asking for his support. Afterwards, Nettles told the Report that council members typically ask the colleagues they most frequently collaborate with to support their proposals or initiatives. For him, collaboration usually happens with the other council members representing southern and eastern areas of the city, rather than the northern areas Lauersdorf represents. Crain told the Report Monday that Nettles called him about the resolution, but did not ask him to sign on.
Williams, the outgoing District 6 representative, said he felt compelled to vote in support of the resolution to 鈥渆nsure the voices of all of our residents are heard.鈥� He noted that Tarrant County completed redistricting after the 2020 census, when they voted in 2021 to keep the existing maps.
鈥淭hat wasn鈥檛 inaction. That was a clear and deliberate act. That鈥檚 the truth, and there鈥檚 no rewriting of that narrative,鈥� Williams said.
Democrats have argued that the proposed precinct maps published earlier this month would give Republicans an edge in one of the county鈥檚 two Democratic-led precincts. Simmons, who along with O鈥橦are and Ramirez is up for reelection in 2026, claims O鈥橦are initiated the redistricting process to change the political makeup of her precinct and make it impossible for her to get reelected next year.
Simmons plans to seek a second term in 2026, after with 51% of the vote to defeat Republican Andy Nguyen, who served as O鈥橦are鈥檚 chief of staff after losing the election. Nguyen represented Precinct 2 between 2011 and 2018 but lost his reelection campaign to Democrat Devan Allen in 2018.
Redistricting usually happens after a census to balance population growth. County commissioners considered redistricting after the 2020 census but ultimately decided not to, saying the existing precincts remained demographically balanced after the census.
Williams argued that the redistricting process hasn鈥檛 been inclusive of community perspectives. He and other council members pointed out that the county鈥檚 redistricting process has progressed much more quickly than the redistricting process Fort Worth City Council members used in 2022 to from nine members to 11.
The council took several months to redraw proposed district maps, explore all aspects of the issue and hear from residents, as well as let residents propose their own district maps.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 happening at the county is exactly opposite of what Fort Worth does best, and that鈥檚 putting people first,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淭his process was rushed by the county, it lacked transparency and, ultimately, it left the public out.鈥�
Even with the public town hall meetings the county hosted to gather resident input, , Williams said.
He noted that those leading the redistricting process were 鈥渢oo scared鈥� to attend a May 14 town hall meeting at the Como Community Center in west Fort Worth鈥檚 historically Black neighborhood, which falls in Williams鈥� council district. He said he told county officials that 鈥淐omo is perfectly safe鈥� 鈥� 鈥渂ut I guess if you鈥檙e from D.C. and you鈥檙e only here in Fort Worth for partisan politics, it doesn鈥檛 really matter,鈥� he added.
Cecilia Lenzen is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at cecilia.lenzen@fortworthreport.org.
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