In a heated meeting, Tarrant County leaders cast blame and expressed concern over the sudden resignation of the county鈥檚 elections chief.
Heider Garcia, the Tarrant County elections administrator since 2018, submitted his resignation in a letter dated April 16. He decided to quit after a meeting with Republican County Judge Tim O鈥橦are revealed a difference in their values when it comes to running elections.
O鈥橦are has taken an interest in the elections system since he took office in January, most notably announcing the creation of an Election Integrity Task Force. Garcia was never consulted in that effort.
At Tuesday鈥檚 regular Commissioners Court meeting, Democratic County Commissioner Roy Charles Brooks blamed O鈥橦are for Garcia鈥檚 departure in a pointed exchange on the dais.
鈥淭he system was not broken. It was made to be broken. It was broken by the hand of you, Judge O鈥橦are,鈥� Brooks said.
O鈥橦are cut in and interrupted Brooks.
鈥淕o ahead and explain. Go ahead and explain how I broke it,鈥� O'Hare said. 鈥淓xplain to the public how I broke the system.鈥�
鈥淗aving not been present in the meeting between you and the elections administrator, the only evidence I have is what he stated in his letter: That y鈥檃ll came to loggerheads over how to administer fair and nonpolitical elections,鈥� Brooks said.
In his resignation letter, Garcia told O鈥橦are he quit because he refused to betray his beliefs.
鈥淛udge O鈥橦are, my formula to 鈥榓dminister a quality transparent election鈥� stands on respect and zero politics; compromising on these values is not an option for me,鈥� Garcia wrote. 鈥淵ou made it clear in our last meeting that your formula is different, thus, my decision to leave. I wish you the best; Tarrant County deserves that you find success.鈥�
Brooks also pointed out the state's praise for Garcia鈥檚 office. An found that Tarrant County runs a 鈥渜uality, transparent election.鈥�
Conspiracy theories swirled around Garcia after that election, and His openness to answering questions from election skeptics has earned him .
鈥淚t just seems to me that Mr. Garcia had an excellent record running elections,鈥� Brooks said. 鈥淗e was verified by every audit that was ever done of our election system. He had the respect of both political parties. He was transparent in the operation of the elections office.鈥�
Whoever replaces Garcia will have to live up to his excellent performance, Brooks said 鈥� and that Garcia鈥檚 replacement would likely be O鈥橦are鈥檚 鈥渉and-picked successor.鈥�
O鈥橦are denied having any hand-picked successor.
The oversees the selection of the new elections administrator. O鈥橦are is the chair of that commission and has a vote alongside the tax-assessor collector, the county clerk, and the chairs of the Tarrant County Republican and Democratic Parties, he said at the Tuesday meeting.
鈥淚 did not ask Heider to resign. I did not put pressure on Heider to resign. I did not threaten to fire Heider. I did not threaten to bring him before the Election Commission for a review to determine if he would keep his employment,鈥� O鈥橦are said.
Earlier this month, O'Hare told a crowd at a True Texas Project meeting that he planned to examine Garcia鈥檚 performance after the upcoming May 6 election, .
O鈥橦are told his colleagues he鈥檇 be happy to tell them what happened between him and Garcia, as long as those conversations wouldn鈥檛 violate , which requires meetings of governmental bodies to happen in public.
Republican County Commissioner Manny Ramirez thanked Garcia for his service.
Ramirez did not blame anyone for Garcia鈥檚 departure, but he said that county elections workers need to be able to rely on commissioners鈥� support.
"Elections by nature are political, and they are polarizing, but I don't think the administration of those elections should be either,鈥� Ramirez said.
Ramirez also said that communication between members of the court is lacking.
鈥淚 heard about his resignation from the media yesterday, and that was surprising,鈥� he said.
Garcia isn鈥檛 leaving right away. His final day on the job is June 23, leaving plenty of time to deal with the upcoming May 6 election and any possible runoffs, he wrote in his resignation letter.
Garcia was not present at the meeting Tuesday. When an agenda item came up about the elections administration office, Assistant Elections Administrator Troy Havard responded.
Democratic County Commissioner Alisa Simmons also thanked Garcia for his service before she expressed concern for the future.
鈥淭hese are critical times. Many people are concerned about our election process, and to lose a tenured, well-thought-of expert like Garcia is terrifying,鈥� Simmons said.
She then reminded the room that begins next week.
Got a tip? Email Miranda Suarez at msuarez@kera.org. You can follow Miranda on Twitter @MirandaRSuarez.
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