Thomas Torlincasi, community activist and Fort Worth government gadfly, dies at 62
.jpg "Thomas Torlincasi, a community activist and local government gadfly known for his public comments at city and county meetings, died Wednesday of a heart attack. He was 62. Torlincasi made his last public comment to Fort Worth City Council Tuesday evening.")
If you came to any city or county government meeting, almost always, he was there.
He was easy to spot with his salt and pepper spiked hair and unmatched fire and authority once he took the microphone during public comment sessions.
Thomas Torlincasi, by all means, was a fighter for transparency. He was, impressively, a dime at staying within his three-minute mark to speak. He was an advocate for those he felt weren’t being heard. He was a community figure who angered some, confused others and inspired many.
But regardless of what anyone thought of him, one thing was clear about the gadfly and permanent fixture at almost all of the meetings for top officials in Fort Worth and Tarrant County — he was always going to hold their feet to the fire.
Torlincasi died in his Benbrook home just after noon on Wednesday. He was 62.
Tarrant County Medical Examiner records say Torlincasi died of a heart attack. The Benbrook Police Department didn’t immediately respond to a follow-up email Thursday morning asking for more details on the circumstances of Torlincasi’s death.
The gadlfy’s loss was mourned on Facebook by local compatriots in the fight against change in Tarrant County and Fort Worth. Tiesa Leggett, who ran for Fort Worth City Council in 2021, said in a Facebook post that Torlincasi was someone who stood out to her.
“Thomas challenged me and we would examine points one by one — he didn’t back down and neither did I yet, we would come to a consensus,” Leggett wrote. “What I know for sure, he cared about what he believed in and supported my ideas. He was an agitator for change and I can respect that of anyone.”
Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley was shocked to hear about Torlincasi’s death and said Thursday his family would be in his prayers. Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker echoed the prayers in a statement texted to the Star-Telegram from her spokesperson.
“Thomas Torlincasi was a very intelligent and passionate community activist, and I was saddened to hear of his passing,” the statement from the mayor read.
In recent weeks, Torlincasi spent the majority of his time in public comments in city hall and commissioners court advocating for his friend Manuel Mata, who lived in the same neighborhood. Mata considered Torlincasi a brother, and said some even considered him a father figure.
To Mata, Torlincasi had a way with paying attention to people.
“It’s like he put a whole bunch of hurt and broken people together to build and give them strength, you know?” Mata said, his voice cracking. “He was like a light in an ugly dark place and it’s gonna suck without him.”
The legacy Torlincasi leaves behind in city hall and and Tarrant County commissioners court is the notion that someone was going to be there to speak for the intimidated and scared.
“I just want to make sure no one forgets about him, that’s all,” Mata said through tears. “That’s all I can do for him.”
As Chandler Crouch faced scrutiny from the Tarrant Appraisal District after a complaint was brought against him for filing protests he couldn’t represent “responsibly” or “properly,” Torlincasi fought alongside a legion of others who saw Crouch as a hero for Tarrant County taxpayers. The complaints were eventually dropped.
Torlincasi stood up for Crouch without even knowing him, Crouch said in a text to a Star-Telegram reporter.
“This is a loss for so many people that will never even know his name,” Crouch said in the text. “He was a great person.”
In a Facebook post, Crouch said Torlincasi did for him what he does for many others.
“He was fearless and incredibly kind… and a HUGE pain in the butt for bureaucrats that wanted to hide in the [shadows],” Crouch wrote.
Crouch is giving donations he receives over the next two weeks to Torlincasi’s family to cover both cremation and funeral costs and to reimburse financial assistance Torlincasi provided to others.
Bob Willoughby, another community gadfly who often speaks at Fort Worth City Council meetings, called the Star-Telegram as he was processing the news of Torlincasi’s death Thursday afternoon.
“He can’t be replaced,” Willoughby said.
In an already small public comment crowd, Willoughby said Torlincasi’s death killed him.
“To lose one there, that’s just terrible because we don’t have any people come down there and fight like he did and be able to get underneath their skins like I do sometimes,” Willoughby said. “But he did it a different way.”
In his last known remarks, Torlincasi spoke to members of Fort Worth’s City Council at a Tuesday evening public comment session. He hit on some of his usual points — the importance of citizen journalists in the community and concerns about local law enforcement.
And as his end timer rang, he posed a question to the council.
“When is the transparency and accountability coming?”
This story was originally published September 8, 2022 at 1:14 PM.
