Democrat judges say the Tarrant County judge left them out of a policy meeting
On Wednesday, County Judge Tim O’Hare held a closed-door meeting to discuss the county’s visiting Justice of the Peace policy.
Three judges allege they did not receive invites to that meeting. All of three are Democrats, and minorities who represent majority minority precincts, they say.
Those three judges — Kenneth Sanders, Sergio De Leon, and Lisa Woodard — are now calling out the county judge for racial discrimination, partisanship and cronyism, according to a joint statement released Thursday.
“County Judge Tim O’Hare apparently chose not to invite the duly-elected minority Justices of the Peace in Tarrant County who represent majority communities of color,” they said in the statement.
Tarrant County has eight Justices of the Peace who oversee marriages, misdemeanors and civil cases involving less than $20,000. De Leon, Sanders and Woodard are the only three of Tarrant County’s Justices of the Peace who are Democrats.
“We, the only minority Justices of the Peace in Tarrant County, strongly object to the racially insensitive and partisan action taken by Tarrant County Judge O’Hare,” the statement reads. “According to census data, Tarrant County is now a majority-minority county, yet decisions are being made without input from or in regard to communities of color.”
A representative for O’Hare did not directly answer the Star-Telegram’s questions about what was discussed during the meeting.
“There’s so much misinformation in that missive it isn’t worthy of a response, other than to say it isn’t surprising to see Democrats resort to the same tired playbook,” a statement from O’Hare sent by his represenative reads.
O’Hare continued: “Some Tarrant County Democrats continue to believe that elections do not have consequences. They continue to cry racism over every decision they disagree with. It will not deter nor dissuade me from continuing to do what I believe is right for the people of Tarrant County. Ever.
“The latest outcry is over my decision to exercise the authority provided to this office by state law. It appears that one JP doesn’t understand the law or thinks it doesn’t apply to him.”
In that same email, the representative attached a letter the county judge sent to Sanders that contained information about the changed policy. Peace justices will now be required to request replacements no more than two business days in advance.
O’Hare and Sanders previously sparred over how O’Hare handled hiring a replacement for Sanders’ court when he was hospitalized with kidney disease complications.
Sanders suggested Vicki Gray, a retired judge who had a good rapport with his office, should take his place. O’Hare instead chose Matt Hayes, a Republican who supported O’Hare as he ran for county judge and ran against Sanders for the judge position and lost.
At the time, Tarrant County Democrats said the move was politically motivated and thwarted the will of voters in Sanders’ precinct.
It’s not uncommon for visiting judges to request their own replacement when they’re out of office. But government code allows O’Hare and other county judges across the state to pick their own replacement when a peace justice is out sick.
Neither De Leon, Sanders or Woodard know why they weren’t invited to the meeting.
“I think you’d have to ask the county judge that,” De Leon said.
Woodard believes the county judge might think he doesn’t need them.
“If you are the county judge, and you have to understand that you represent everybody in Tarrant County, not just the Republicans,” she said. “Everybody.”
Sanders thinks his dispute with O’Hare and the Democratic judges not being invited to the meeting were connected.
The peace justice’s first reaction to finding out he wasn’t invited? Sanders said he wasn’t surprised.
“The county judge seems to be extremely partisan,” Sanders said.
He added, “Elections have consequences. But once you get on the other side of the election, to me, it should be about providing a service to the people, all people. But it just seems like the county judge has a pattern of appointing and handpicking his own people for public facing positions.”
Woodard felt drained and disrespected by not being invited to the meeting, and said she was in awe it happened.
“Like, who does that?” Woodard said. “Like you’re the leader. Who does that? Leaders lead. And that’s not being a good leader.”
Woodard understands the county judge’s authority. What she wants is for all judges to be treated fairly.
De Leon told the Star-Telegram he was made aware of the meeting by his court manager, who was told about the meeting by an employee at another peace justice court.
“For Tarrant County to be a majority minority county, I think our voices ought to be heard,” De Leon said Friday. “And particularly when they’re discussing an issue related to the visiting judge policy of Tarrant County, which impacts all Justices of the Peace.”
He said the county judge needed to call a meeting with all justices to discuss the policy. The judges also want the visiting judge policy placed on the Tarrant County Commissioners Court agenda for discussion, according to their joint statement.
“A leader tries to build consensus and gather input from everyone before reaching decisions, rather than prohibiting voices from individuals from being at the table to weigh in,” De Leon said. “We do not need leaders who continue to divide our communities, but rather bring them together.”
And Woodard wants O’Hare to apologize so they can move on.
“At the end of the day, we can do a lot more for Tarrant County together than divided,” she said. “We’re all servants of our communities. And the first thing you have to do as a servant, you have to learn how to work together.”
This story was originally published September 29, 2023 at 12:30 PM.
