Why this ‘conservative’ focused on issues, not politics, in run for Tarrant commissioner
There were questions about whether Tarrant County would flip blue on Tuesday, but it stayed mostly red and Republicans kept control of the commissioners court.
Unofficial results show voters went with Republican Tim O’Hare of Southlake for Tarrant County judge. In a tight race for Precinct 2, which covers Arlington and Mansfield, Democrat Alisa Simmons cinched the position with 51.45% of the vote.
And in Precinct 4, which represents Northwest Tarrant County, Republican Manny Ramirez won easily over Democrat Cedric Kanyinda with 59% of the vote. He’ll be the first new commissioner for the precinct in 35 years. J.D. Johnson, the outgoing Republican commissioner who didn’t seek re-election, has held the spot since 1987.
Ramirez, who will step away from his duties as the Fort Worth Police Officers Association president to be a commissioner full time come Jan. 1, is somewhat of an anomaly in today’s Republican politics.
He shied away from events that would pit him too far to one side or another politically. Throughout the campaign cycle, Ramirez was invited to candidate events that featured Republicans who support ideologies farther to the right. He rarely showed up. Though he had a watch party planned at the FWPOA office Tuesday evening, Ramirez did end up stopping by the Tarrant County GOP’s victory rally at Ashton Depot in Fort Worth.
And Ramirez has remained relatively incident-free even as Republican politics became increasingly partisan in Tarrant County races. He’ll tell you himself — throughout his campaigns for the GOP nomination and his eventual victory, Ramirez didn’t say his opponents’ names once.
To Ramirez, how county residents saw him campaign and how he’ll lead will reflect what Tarrant County residents and community members need: Leadership focused on solving the county’s most important issues.
“My goal in both the primary campaign and this general campaign was to really showcase that we can bring civility back to politics, and that we can be issues-based, we can be common sense and really just focus on making our community members’ lives better in improving the quality of life in our county,” Ramirez said. “And if we stay laser- focused on that and drown out all the rest of the noise, I think that’s how we’re going to become the greatest county in the nation.”
But make no mistake — Ramirez is conservative and a staunch Republican.
Ramirez said his focus in the campaign was about the issues at hand, like infrastructure and being a responsible steward for taxpayer money.
Candidates up and down the ballot for county commissioners have brought issues to the table that have nothing to do with county government. For example, O’Hare ran a portion of his primary on keeping critical race theory out of schools despite the county’s lack of school oversight.
“My politics are very conservative,” Ramirez said. “I’m a very conservative person, but you know, I think there’s no use for me, you know, campaigning on issues that I can’t affect in the position which I was running for.”
The new commissioners cover a wide range of ideologies and political pasts. As a city council member O’Hare put forth ordinances that prevented undocumented immigrants from renting apartments in Farmers Branch. Ramirez comes with years of policing experiences. Simmons, who has spent 22 years as a 911 administrator and has been actively involved in social justice organizations like the ACLU and NAACP, will join longtime commissioner Roy Charles Brooks as the lone Democrats on the court.
Jim Riddlesperger, political science professor at TCU, said what Tarrant County residents are likely to see is the commissioners feeling each other out with the three new faces and two longtime members.
“It’s going to be an entirely new cast,” Riddlesperger said, adding soon after that the dynamic on the court will change with how issues are presented and who forms coalitions with who.
Riddlesperger said there’s no telling how the commissioners will reach decisions until they’re seated at the table.
Though Ramirez didn’t feel the need to tout his conservatism during his campaign, will the politics come into play once he votes? He said no, but that he would favor conservative policy.
“I’m going to give you a straight answer,” Ramires said. “I’m not going to play politics, because in my mind, it’s our conservative policies, not politics, that our Tarrant County residents deserve. And it’s our results, not our rhetoric, that they deserve to see. “
He said all new commissioner candidates have to work together to make sure the county operated smoothly.
“There are going be some issues as a conservative that I’m not going to agree with the more left-leaning commissioners, but that doesn’t stop us from having civil dialogue and getting, you know, very, very important things done to the county,” Ramirez said.
Infrastructure, to him, was top of mind for voters and is something the county needs to make sure to get right. And to get Republicans on the same page, Ramirez believes they need to stay focused on the conservative policies.
The polarizing political environment, he said, is on both sides.
“It’s not healthy for a political ecosystem, but it’s also not productive for citizens who really just want their elected officials to lead with integrity, lead transparency and make sure that you’re fulfilling your promises that you make,” Ramirez said.
This story was originally published November 10, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
CORRECTION: Ramirez is the president of the Fort Worth Police Officers Association.
