As Fort Worth’s City Council elections heat up, one race in particular has drawn attention for its sharp turn into accusations of smears, nepotism, online harassment, and questionable campaign finance activity.
Incumbent District 4 Councilmember Charles Lauersdorf, who is seeking re-election, told The Dallas Express that the race between himself and challenger Teresa Ramirez has taken an increasingly hostile tone — one he characterizes as “character assassination and an online campaign of blatant lies.”
A quick google search will show that Ramirez was named by The Texas Ethics Commission on a list of delinquent filers, “naming the filers who failed to pay the penalty fine for failure to file the report, or filing a late report, in reference to the specified filing deadline.”
It is important to note that the listing appears tied only to her previous run for state representative and not her current bid for City Council.
One of the more contentious incidents in the race involved a campaign text from Ramirez’s team that Lauersdorf claims misrepresented his endorsement by the Fort Worth Police Officers Association (POA). He alleges Ramirez circulated a mailer originally issued by the POA — which endorsed him, not Ramirez — and falsely implied that he had misused public funds.
The flyer bore the POA Public Safety Committee logo, which Lauersdorf emphasized is a completely separate entity from the city’s own Public Safety Committee, which he chairs.
“Her campaign just sent out a text message showing that because I’m endorsed by the Police Officers Association, right? She sends out this text campaign, showing the mailer that went out and then saying that I’m misusing funds and I endorse myself from the committee. I mean, obviously blatant lie, right? Because we’re talking about two different committees, two entirely separate entities,” Lauersdorf said.
Lauersdorf also accused Ramirez’s daughter, Natalie Faye Gonzalez — a Tarrant County GOP chair — of misleading attendees at a recent executive committee meeting. He claims she endorsed her mother without disclosing their relationship to the group.
According to Lauersdorf, Faye-Gonzalez also manipulated two unrelated social media posts, one about zoning changes and another discussing LGBTQ issues, and purposefully mixed them up in an email to precinct chairs, implying a false narrative that her opponent was supporting LGBTQ curriculum across Fort Worth schools.
The Ramirez campaign has faced its share of personal scrutiny, and financial scrutiny.
In response to the TEC’s listing of Ramirez as a delinquent filer of campaign finance reports, her daughter has allegedly claimed these failed reports were due to a concussion she suffered in 2023, but some are questioning that concussion narrative as well.
“She said she couldn’t do anything because of a concussion, yet the very next day she’s in Austin attending a karate competition,” Lauersdorf told DX.
Lauersdorf also recounted what he described as one of the most disturbing moments of the campaign — a Facebook post from Ramirez supporter Stephanie Hernandez that appeared to mock his wife, Amanda Awad Lauersdorf, an Army Reserve captain currently battling breast cancer.
In response to a post from Amanda about breast cancer awareness, Hernandez wrote, “That’s rather odd and at the most random time, too. All too strange, and again I’m not family nor friend. Anyone who sees this will think it’s strange. You’re welcome 😊.”
Ramirez and her team have also publicly threatened legal action against other GOP members who question her tactics, claiming she is being “stalked.”
“If you’re an elected precinct chair and you’re doing this, you’re tarnishing the reputation of the GOP,” Lauersdorf said.
While Lauersdorf said he expected a tough campaign, he described the vitriol from Ramirez’s camp as deeply troubling — particularly in light of her ethics issues and campaign finance troubles.
The Ramirez campaign did not respond to multiple requests for comment from The Dallas Express by press time.