Tarrant County bans pastor and an ex-lawmaker from Commissioners Court meetings. Here’s why
Former state Rep. Lon Burnam and the Rev. Ryon Price of Broadway Baptist Church spend nearly every other Tuesday speaking in favor of progressive policy at Tarrant County Commissioners Court meetings.
Neither will be at the next meeting on Tuesday.
Tarrant County Sheriff’s deputies have issued both trespassing warnings after Judge Tim O’Hare said they violated the rules of Commissioners Court on July 2.
Price was banned for one year because he exceeded the three-minute time limit for public comment by eight seconds. Burnam was issued the warning after he approached O’Hare at the conclusion of the meeting.
A page attached to the sign-up sheet for public comments spells out the rules for courtroom decorum and notes the judge may remove anyone he feels does not follow them.
Price said in a statement Monday: “I had no intention of exceeding my time at the commissioners court. But a ban for an eight-second infraction is excessive. I question the fairness of the penalty.
“I do intend to comply with order because I respect the rule of law and because I am committed to helping be a peacemaker now. But I do hope the decision will be revisited.”
Someone in the audience booed when O’Hare ordered Price out of the court, and the county judge told that person, “Try me.”
Burnam was ejected after he approached O’Hare to express his grievances about his treatment of Commissioner Alisa Simmons, a Democrat who represents southeast Tarrant County, following a heated exchange between the two.
Simmons was questioning the county administrator about training materials for Sheriff’s Office employees as O’Hare tried to close the meeting.
“You’re out of order,” O’Hare said, then banged his gavel. “The chair has not recognized your right to speak.”
Burnam said he can’t remember his exact words to O’Hare but said he let the judge know what he thinks of him.
In a phone call with the Star-Telegram Monday, Burnam said he is tired of O’Hare dismissing Simmon’s comments at meetings. He called the argument at the July 2 meeting the “last straw for him.”
Burnam said he will not be at Tuesday’s meeting because he does not want to risk arrest. Burnam, a Democrat from Fort Worth, was in the state Legislature from 1999-2015.
Burnam said he is exploring legal options to reverse his ban. He was given a trespassing notice by the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office on July 9.
Staff Writer Ciara McCarthy contributed to this report
