Tarrant County commissioner’s ex-staffer has his eyes set on former boss’s seat
A former member of Democrat Commissioner Alisa Simmons’ staff has announced he’s running for her seat in the March 3 primary.
Democrat Gabriel Rivas grew up in Precinct 2 and said he wants to continue giving those residents a voice on the Commissioners Court.
“I feel so much that the county has such a potential to be a force for good in people’s lives, and that for most people, they’re not connecting with those resources,” Rivas said. “I think that’s been an emphasis of my work as Director of Community Outreach is to connect people with the county’s resources.”
Rivas left his position in the last week of November in order to run for commissioner. His priorities as commissioner would be advocacy, infrastructure, accountability, public health and the county jail.
With the county jail, Rivas said there’s no reason people should be facing death when they’re awaiting trial. With the right kind of oversight, jail deaths will not continue happening, Rivas said.
He said he wants to ensure the county facilities are running at full potential after the tax rate reduction voted on by commissioners in September “slashed” both the county and John Peter Smith hospital budgets.
While working in Simmons’s office, Rivas said he learned more about amplifying the voice of residents.
“We’re currently over 2.2 million people,” Rivas said. “So that means each commissioner represents over a half a million residents, especially after, after the gerrymandering. It’s no longer a compact southeast Tarrant County district. It now stretches across the county, and so I’m making sure that the diverse needs of every community, every neighborhood, every resident is being heard.”
After the redistricting in June, Precinct 2 spans Arlington, Mansfield, Kennedale, Burleson, Crowley, Benbrook, Edgecliff Village, Pantego, Dalworthington Gardens, and parts of south Fort Worth. Connecting with the entirety of Precinct 2 may be a challenge, Rivas said, but one that he’s up for.
The commissioners’ main job is to oversee the county, approve the tax rate and budget and maintain roads and bridges. But Rivas said there’s a lot a more commissioner can do if they care enough about the community to do so.
“Commissioner Simmons, a lot of times, has been the dissenting vote in Commissioners Court,” Rivas said. “She has been the one shining a light where otherwise a light wouldn’t shine. So that’s something that I’ve learned on her staff, is that even if it’s not the role of a commissioner or not the role of the director community outreach, in my position, there’s a lot that can be done by a person who cares about their community and cares about a person enough to do the work.”
Simmons has not filed to run for reelection nor has she endorsed Rivas in his campaign for her seat. She did not respond to the Star-Telegram’s request for comment.
Whoever wins the Democratic nomination in March will face former Republican state Rep. Tony Tinderholt or Lucila Peri in the general election on Nov. 3.
This story was originally published December 1, 2025 at 4:51 PM.