Arlington residents criticize Tarrant County redistricting as racial gerrymander
A majority of people who showed up at a redistricting town hall in Arlington last weekend said they oppose a proposed redistricting of Tarrant County precincts.
Five proposed maps for new boundaries would affect Arlington more drastically than most other cities. Opponents say the proposal by the Republican majority on the Commissioners Court is an effort to make it harder for Democrats to get elected. Proponents say redistricting is long overdue after 15 years of growth.
At an Arlington town hall Saturday put on by country government, many of the speakers said they were not in support of any of the presented maps and that they would take legal action if the commissioners court adopts one of them in June. Among those who favor redistricting, many said they preferred Map 1.
Tarrant County hired Public Interest Legal Foundation to start the process of redistricting. About five weeks later, the Virginia-based law firm brought forth the five maps drawn by Adam Kincaid. He is the executive director and president of National Republican Redistricting Trust, an organization that coordinates “the GOP’s 50-state redistricting effort.”
Typically, redistricting can take six months to a year, but Tarrant County plans to vote on a new map on June 3, two months from when the process began.
The proposed maps favor the Republican Party, based on voting data from recent presidential and midterm elections. Each of the five options show the southern precincts 1 and 2 interlocked in U-shapes, with the northern Precincts 3 and 4 relatively unchanged from the current map.
The upside-down horseshoe resembles that from the 2024 voting trend map of Tarrant County.
Since presenting the five proposed maps, Tarrant County has hosted three public hearings in Precincts 1, 2 and 4. The Precinct 3 hearing will take place at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Gary Fickes Northeast Courthouse.
The one Saturday took place at the Arlington Sub Courthouse and saw three hours of public comment by over 100 speakers who signed up.
Before the microphone was handed over to the public, the Precinct 2 Commissioner Alisa Simmons spoke to the room of about 175 people introducing the panel of two Democratic state representatives, two non-partisan redistricting experts, a voter analyst who worked in former Commissioner Devan Allen’s office and an empty seat meant for Joe Nixon, a Public Interest Legal Foundation representative.
Nixon sent an email to Simmons’ office saying he was “afraid for his life” after the town hall meeting in Como that his colleague appeared at.
Sam Swanson, another Public Interest Legal Foundation representative, appeared at the Precinct 1 and 4 town halls. About 50 people came to the Precinct 4 meeting in Azle, predominantly against redistricting. The Precinct 1 meeting in Como drew a crowd of about 100, a majority of whom were against redistricting.
Swanson stayed near the back and did not answer questions at either. Some members of the public approached him aggressively enough to warrant security standing beside him.
About a fourth of those who stepped up to the podium in Arlington said they are in favor of the redistricting, specifically pointing to Map 1, which splits Arlington into three precincts. They were met with disgruntled shouts as they said race had nothing to do with the proposed maps, that three commissioners would equal more representation and that Tarrant’s growth demands more accurate maps to be drawn.
“To imply that a certain demographic is owned by a certain political affiliation or a party, would be very, very disappointing. It would be presumptuous,” said Republican State Rep. Tony Tinderholt, who said he was speaking on his own behalf as a constituent of Arlington.
“I think it’s important for the county to be represented,” Tinderholt said. “Trump won this county. He won it overwhelmingly, and I think that the county should be represented that way, so I support this change.”
Residents in opposition to the redistricting called it racial gerrymandering and urged Precinct 4 Commissioner Manny Ramirez to vote against the proposed maps. He is seen by some as the one Republicans among three on the Commissioners Court who could be persuaded.
In an OpEd published Monday in the Star-Telegram, Ramirez wrote that Tarrant County voters choose their leaders “based on values and merit, not identity.”
“Some have raised concerns about racial gerrymandering,” he wrote. “Let me be clear: At no point have racial, gender or religious demographic data played any role in this process. Those characteristics do not determine someone’s ability to serve their community. Tarrant County has a long history of electing minority candidates regardless of precinct demographics.”
Still, Ramirez is likely to hear from opponents of redistricting. Jesuorobo Enobakhare Jr. said during Saturday’s town hall that he moved to Tarrant County from Monroe, Louisiana, a red state despite more registered Democrats than Republicans.
“This is a power grab fueled solely by racism, not politics, because Tim O’Hare already has a three-two majority,” Enobakhare said. “Commissioner Simmons can only vote ‘no’ once next to Commissioner Miles. We need three votes to end this process. It is up to you to talk to your friends and family who live in Commissioner Manny Ramirez’s Precinct 4, who, by the way, is a person of color, and ask that they would pressure him to join Commissioner Simmons in voting no to redistricting.”
This story was originally published May 20, 2025 at 3:38 PM.