Editor鈥檚 note: 四虎影院 has updated this story with comments from County Judge Tim O鈥橦are鈥檚 Twitter account and also has included the audio from the relevant portion of the interview below.
Tarrant County has officially begun its search for a new elections chief, after the current administrator resigned over a clash in values with the county judge.
The Tarrant County Election Commission opened its Tuesday meeting by accepting Heider Garcia鈥檚 resignation. Garcia鈥檚 resignation letter, which became public last week, cited a meeting with the new county judge, Republican Tim O鈥橦are, as the reason for his departure. Garcia wrote that he can鈥檛 run elections with 鈥渞espect and zero politics鈥� while working with O鈥橦are.
O鈥橦are is now one of the people in charge of finding Garcia鈥檚 replacement. He鈥檚 the chair of the Election Commission, the five-person board that also includes the county clerk, the county tax assessor-collector, and the chairs of the local Democratic and Republican parties.
The Commission also moved Tuesday to post Garcia鈥檚 job online. After the meeting, O鈥橦are told reporters that he鈥檇 like to find someone who understand their role 鈥渋s to administer fair and secure and honest elections.鈥�
鈥淎 lot of people in your line of work don't like to acknowledge there's a lot of people that don't trust the security of our elections,鈥� he said, referring to his office full of journalists. 鈥淲e want everyone to feel that their vote is going to count, that elections are secure and fair and honest and transparent."
have run rampant in recent years. After the 2020 elections, he endured death threats from people who believed former president Donald Trump was the true winner.
found that Garcia is not alone. Nationwide, almost one in three elections professionals know someone who left the job due to threats, intimidation and safety concerns.
In February, O鈥橦are, Sheriff Bill Waybourn, and District Attorney Phil Sorrells announced the formation of an Election Integrity Task Force. The task force will focus on prosecuting election crimes, even though such crimes are rare and praised Tarrant County鈥檚 election system for its quality and transparency.
If a potential candidate for elections administrator has a history of election denial, O鈥橦are would still be open to considering that candidate, he said Tuesday.
鈥淲ould I bring someone in who at some time or another questioned whether or not Joe Biden legitimately won? Well, that in and of itself is not an automatic disqualifier," O'Hare.
On Wednesday, O鈥橦are鈥檚 Twitter account 鈥淭arrant County looks for new elections chief. O'Hare won't rule out election deniers for post.鈥�
鈥淥f all the dumb and misleading headlines we鈥檝e seen, this one tops the list,鈥� the tweet read. 鈥淔rom now on, if 四虎影院 or the Fort Worth Report wants any questions answered from our office, submit them in writing.鈥�
Here is the audio from the relevant portion of the conversation with O鈥橦are, which began when a ProPublica reporter asked him, 鈥淎re you committed to not hire someone who is spreading falsehoods about the 2020 election?鈥�
Jessica Huseman, the executive director for Votebeat, a nonpartisan news outlet that covers elections and voting, backed up 四虎影院鈥檚 headline in a Tweet on Wednesday night.
鈥淭here were multiple reporters in the room when he said this, ours included. All of them have it on audio recording,鈥� Huseman wrote.
鈥淭here is no one who has the Judge on audio saying he won鈥檛 rule out election deniers,鈥� O鈥橦are鈥檚 account responded.
Huseman then shared O鈥橦are鈥檚 verbatim quote: 鈥淲ould I bring someone in who at some time or another questioned whether or not Joe Biden legitimately won? Well, that in and of itself is not an automatic disqualifier.鈥�
鈥淭he quote is probably accurate, although there was quite a bit more discussed. That quote and their headline are not the same thing,鈥� O鈥橦are鈥檚 account responded.
Huseman asked for further clarification. 鈥淲ill you hire a candidate who believes Joe Biden is not the rightful president?鈥� she wrote.
O鈥橦are鈥檚 account had not responded to Huseman by Thursday afternoon.
Anyone who will replace Garcia will need a majority vote from the five-member Election Commission. Besides O鈥橦are, that includes County Clerk Mary Louise Nicholson, Tax Assessor-Collector Wendy Burgess, Tarrant County Democratic Party Chair Allison Campolo and Tarrant County Republican Party Chair Rick Barnes.
About 30 people attended the Tuesday meeting, where the public was allowed to speak. Most people who took the podium supported Garcia.
Vera Roberts, the election judge liaison for the Tarrant County Democratic Party, said she hadn鈥檛 come planning to talk to the Election Commission.
鈥淚 was going to sit there, but I could not let his name be tarnished saying that he was a bad administrator,鈥� Roberts said.
Garcia worked every day to make sure Tarrant County citizens could vote with ease, Roberts said.
鈥淣o matter what his partisanship is, he never put that in the equation. His only thing was to make sure that Tarrant County was the best county in Texas as far as voting," she said.
Jackee Cox, a frequent speaker at Tarrant County meetings, came holding a neon green sign that said 鈥淕RIEVE OUR LOSS OF HEIDER GARCIA.鈥�
Garcia gave people faith in the elections process, Cox told the Election Commission.
鈥淲e feel that fair elections have been stolen from us here in Tarrant County,鈥� she said.
After the elections administrator job description is posted, the commission will go through resumes, interview candidates and pick a finalist to replace Garcia.
During his tenure, local and statewide officials for his openness, transparency and willingness to work with election skeptics.
Robert Buker told the Election Commission he wasn鈥檛 sorry to see Garcia go. Buker didn鈥檛 like the way Garcia ran the elections office, he said to 四虎影院 after the meeting. He wants someone in charge who will .
But there was one thing he appreciated about Garcia, he said. He answered questions from the public.
鈥淗e was accessible, I鈥檒l give him that,鈥� Buker said.
Got a tip? Email Miranda Suarez at msuarez@kera.org. You can follow Miranda on Twitter @MirandaRSuarez.
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