Politics & Government

Absences force cancellation of Tarrant County Commissioners Court meeting

This inside of the Tarrant County Commissioners Court at the Tarrant County Administration Building in Fort Worth on Tuesday, May 6, 2025.
This inside of the Tarrant County Commissioners Court at the Tarrant County Administration Building in Fort Worth on Tuesday, May 6, 2025. ctorres@star-telegram.com

The Tarrant County commissioners meeting was canceled Tuesday because three members of the five-member court were absent.

Commissioners Roderick Miles, Matt Krause and Manny Ramirez were not present. Their staffs did not immediately respond to the Star-Telegram’s question about why they were missing.

Crystal Betts said she drove from Saginaw to raise her sign for the commissioners to see.

Betts was disappointed three of the commissioners weren’t present, but at least County Judge Tim O’Hare read her “We will vote you out” sign, she said.

Saginaw resident Crystal Betts holds up a sign for County Judge Tim O’Hare to read as meeting attendees file out of the room due to the Tusday, June 17 meeting being canceled.
Saginaw resident Crystal Betts holds up a sign for County Judge Tim O’Hare to read as meeting attendees file out of the room due to the Tusday, June 17 meeting being canceled.

“It’s their job. They make a lot of money to be here, and they can’t show up,” Betts said. “I guess they had something better to do. I don’t know. It’s unfortunate. You know, people do take time off of their jobs, and they take time out of their lives to come out here.”

The county was scheduled to decide on a $250,000 contract for Public Interest Legal Foundation to represent the county, the commissioners court and O’Hare in a lawsuit over the redistricting.

The court was also set to hear a briefing about the operational impact of the redistricting and a briefing about the LGBTQ historical marker that O’Hare blocked from being placed in Fort Worth.

O’Hare said the next meeting will be on Tuesday, July 1.

This story was originally published June 17, 2025 at 10:45 AM.

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Rachel Royster
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Rachel Royster is a news and government reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, specifically focused on Tarrant County. She joined the newsroom after interning at the Austin American-Statesman, the Waco Tribune-Herald and Capital Community News in DC. A Houston native and Baylor grad, Rachel enjoys traveling, reading and being outside. She welcomes any and all news tips to her email.
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