Here are the Democratic primary candidates for Tarrant County judge
Two Democrats are running in the primary for Tarrant County judge, the chief executive of county government who presides over the commissioners court. A third candidate, Marc Veasey, dropped out of the race but still appears on ballot.
The winner in the March 3 Democratic primary will advance to the November election and face one of these Republican candidates.
Here are the Democrats’ responses to the Star-Telegram candidate questionnaires, in the order they’ll appear on your ballot.
Millennium Anton C. Woods, Jr.
Age (as of March 3): 26
Campaign website: Na
Best way for voters to reach you: Email (antoncwoods1@gmail.com) or phone (682-302-3680)
Occupation: Private contractor/ consultant
Education: Graduated Polytechnic high school 2019, I’m discipline in advanced biological binary quantum computing engineering
Have you run for elected office before?
Sought Fort Worth Councilman District 8 in 2021 and Fort Worth Mayor 2025
Please list the highlights of your civic involvement/activism in Tarrant County.
I have been actively involved in civic engagement through community advocacy, voter education, and public accountability efforts in Tarrant County. I have participated in local government processes, public records requests, and community outreach focused on transparency, civic literacy, and helping residents understand their rights and responsibilities under the law.
Have you ever been arrested, charged with a crime or otherwise been part of a criminal proceeding? No
Have you been involved in a civil lawsuit or bankruptcy proceeding? I have been actively involved in civic engagement through community advocacy, voter education, and public accountability efforts in Tarrant County. I have participated in local government processes, public records requests, and community outreach focused on transparency, civic literacy, and helping residents understand their rights and responsibilities under the law. I filed on both parties Republican and Democratics.
Who are your top three campaign contributors? Family friends community support
Why are you seeking this office?
I am going to strengthen the judicial process in favor of the American people. I will do this by mandating civic literacy programs in public schools and implementing skilled labor programs. Mandatory skilled labor programs and civic literacy in the jail system. The courts of this country was design to be used by the people.The American people should know how to use the court’s. I plan to make this happen. I am seeking this office to help restore public trust in local government through transparency, accountability, and consistent application of the law. I believe county leadership should focus on serving residents, not political systems. My goal is to strengthen public services, protect taxpayer resources, and ensure government processes are fair and accessible to everyone.
If elected, what would your top 3 policy priorities be?
1.) Government Transparency & Efficiency Ensure county processes are clear, consistent, and accessible to the public while reducing wasteful spending.
2.) Public Safety & Mental Health Infrastructure Support law enforcement while expanding mental health diversion and treatment programs to reduce jail overcrowding.
3.) Economic Stability & Cost of Living Support responsible property tax relief, workforce development, and small business growth to keep Tarrant County affordable.
How will you measure your success as County Judge? I will leave that to the American people to Judge.
Why should voters choose you over your opponents? A thousand years anointed christ bear roots of his father’s name
What role should the county judge play in maintaining civility on the commissioners court and in the audience? How would you do so?
The County Judge should set the tone as a neutral facilitator focused on respect, transparency, and order. Civility starts with consistent rules, equal speaking opportunities, and clear expectations for conduct. I would ensure meetings are structured, accessible, and focused on problem solving, while protecting the public’s right to be heard respectfully.
What challenges do commissioners face with the 2025 redistricting? How would you resolve those issues?
The biggest challenges are public trust, legal compliance, and ensuring communities are fairly represented. Redistricting often creates concern about fairness and transparency. I would prioritize open data, public input opportunities, and strict adherence to legal standards to ensure maps reflect population realities while protecting voting rights and community integrity.
How do you propose changing the tax rate and budget at the end of the budget year?
Any tax rate or budget adjustment must be data-driven and transparent. I would require performance reviews of departments, identify inefficiencies, and prioritize essential services first. Tax changes should be considered only after cost controls and efficiency improvements are evaluated, with full public disclosure and input before final decisions are made.
Alisa Simmons
Age (as of March 3): August 16, 1963
Campaign website: www.VoteAlisaSimmons.com TikTok - @alisa.simmons FB - https://facebook.com/CommALSimmons IG - team_alisa_simmons X - @alisafortarrant Threads - team_alisa_simmons
Best way for voters to reach you: ASimmons@VoteAlisaSimmons.com
Occupation: Elected Official/County Commissioner, Precinct 2 - Tarrant County
Education: Texas Woman’s University Bachelor of Science Degree, Journalism May 1985
Have you run for elected office before?
Voters elected me to serve as Precinct 2 Commissioner on the Tarrant County Commissioners Court in 2022. In 2020, I sought a seat in the Texas House of Representatives., HD94.
Please list the highlights of your civic involvement/activism in Tarrant County.
Civic Involvement & Activism Highlights
Board Member, Texas ACLU
Vice President, Texas NAACP
President, Arlington NAACP
Arlington LULAC Council
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.
Executive Director, Arlington Foundation for Excellence in Education
City of Arlington Comprehensive Plan Committee
Arlington Library Board, Chair
YMCA of Arlington
Chisholm Trail Chapter of the American Red Cross
Parenting Center of Tarrant County
Leadership Arlington, Class of 2008
Arlington ISD service includes district-level instructional decision-making, textbook adoption, site-based decision-making committees, PTA boards, and campus-level parent leadership.
Professional Affiliations:
Board Member, Next Generation 9-1-1 Institute
FCC SRIC Working Group 8
National Emergency Number Association (Past President, Texas Chapter)
9-1-1 Public Educators of Texas (Past President)
Have you ever been arrested, charged with a crime or otherwise been part of a criminal proceeding? No
Have you been involved in a civil lawsuit or bankruptcy proceeding? I was involved in a civil employment lawsuit related to wage discrimination in 2013. The matter was resolved through an out-of-court settlement.
Who are your top three campaign contributors?
Walter Horton, Royce West, and Jason Smith
Why are you seeking this office?
My experience as the current elected County Commissioner, for Tarrant County Precinct 2 uniquely qualifies me to remain on the court and as County Judge. I am adept at keeping the tax rate low, having done so each of my three years in office. I have not increased the tax rate or the budget. I have proposed budget cuts to keep the tax rate low. I supported a Homestead Exemption for Tarrant County property owners and in fact, made the motion FOR the county’s first ever homestead exemption.
Tarrant County deserves a County Judge that represents the people. A person who sees themselves as part of the community, not above or inaccessible to the community they were elected to serve.
If elected, what would your top 3 policy priorities be?
My top three priorities are as follows:
1. Budget and Tax Rate | Fiscal Stability with Responsibility
My first priority is rightsizing the county budget without increasing the tax rate while maintaining the services residents depend on. Fiscal discipline must be real, not performative. Setting the tax rate below the “no new revenue” rate has already, in the first quarter, forced the county to dip into reserves to cover basic obligations.
2. Mental/Behavioral Health and Public Health | Public Safety Begins with Public Health
When treatment options are unavailable, our jail becomes the default mental health provider, which is both ineffective and harmful.
3. Jail Operations and Jail Deaths | Accountability and Human Dignity
The number of deaths in the Tarrant County Jail is unacceptable and demands immediate action. We have lost 76 lives under the current administration. Each death represents both a human tragedy and a failure of oversight.
How will you measure your success as County Judge?
I will measure my success as County Judge by whether Tarrant County is more stable, more transparent, and more responsive to the people it serves.
Success means balanced budgets that protect essential services without gimmicks or deficit spending, and a county hospital that is strong, accessible, and financially secure. It means fewer people cycling through the jail because mental health and diversion systems are working, and a measurable reduction in deaths in custody.
I will also measure success by restored public trust: open meetings that welcome participation, elections that are accessible and professionally administered, and county operations that are transparent and accountable.
Finally, success is whether residents feel heard and respected—regardless of party, race, or zip code, and whether county government is focused on results, not political theater.
Why should voters choose you over your opponents?
Voters should choose me because I offer governance over grandstanding and results over rhetoric. I provide a steady, competent, people-centered approach focused on fiscal responsibility without gimmicks, protecting constitutional rights, expanding access to healthcare and mental health services, and restoring transparency and public participation.
I have a proven record of fiscal leadership, including supporting the county’s first homestead exemption, working to reduce jail deaths and the jail population, and protecting essential services without raising the tax rate. I believe county government should solve real problems like affordability, public safety, mental health, infrastructure, and constitutional rights.
My opponent, Tim O’Hare, has led with ideology and performative politics, reducing transparency, weakening public participation, and creating financial instability through deficit-style budgeting and reserve spending. Tarrant County deserves leadership focused on solutions.
What role should the county judge play in maintaining civility on the commissioners court and in the audience? How would you do so?
Improving civility and cultivating relationships among electeds is not complicated. It requires regular, professional communication; timely access to information; respect for oversight; and a shared commitment to the rights granted to each of us and our constituents by the United States Constitution. Civility requires a respect for basic human dignity. Centering the people we serve in every policy decision is the foundation of trust—and without that, no working relationship can succeed. As I do currently, my gaze is always focused on the people I serve. No one can dispute that fact. I will encourage my colleagues to consider and embrace my philosophy and brand of service.
What challenges do commissioners face with the 2025 redistricting? How would you resolve those issues?
The 2025 redistricting created significant operational and trust challenges for commissioners. It has disrupted road and bridge operations by precinct, complicated elections administration, and requires extensive constituent education and outreach so residents understand how new maps affect the next time they can vote to elect their next commissioner, and county services.
To address these challenges, I would commit to transparency, meaningful public input, and independent legal review. We must either responsibly operate within the current reality or move forward in a more equitable environment grounded in law and fairness. Reapportionment must be driven by population data, not political retaliation, race-based decision-making, or partisan advantage.
Trust can only be rebuilt by putting voters, not politics, at the center of the process. Any future redistricting must follow clear, neutral criteria and avoid using maps to suppress voter influence or weaken community representation.
How do you propose changing the tax rate and budget at the end of the budget year?
First of all, I monitor the county budget continuously, daily so as to avoid a mad dash to make changes as fiscal year closes. I believe tax rate and budget changes at the end of the budget year should be rare, transparent, and driven by real financial need—not political messaging.
My approach would focus on maintaining a stable tax rate set at the beginning of the fiscal year and building a responsible budget that fully accounts for known costs, including employee benefits, public safety, and essential services.
I would also prioritize protecting the county’s reserves and bond rating by avoiding deficit-style budgeting that forces last-minute fixes. Sound fiscal management means planning ahead, telling taxpayers the truth, and making decisions based on long-term stability rather than short-term optics. I will ensure all revenue and expenditure data is presented publicly.
This story was originally published February 14, 2026 at 3:00 AM.