The Fort Worth city council passed a resolution condemning Tarrant County commissioners’ redistricting efforts.
“The Fort Worth City Council hereby opposes any Tarrant County Commissioners Court process for redistricting that results in the adoption of a map by the Court that would change the existing precinct boundaries,” reads the resolution, CP 333.
The council passed the proposal on May 20 by a margin of 6-4. Mayor Mattie Parker, Councilwoman Macy Hill, and Councilmen Charlie Lauersdorf and Alan Blaylock voted against the resolution, which is nonbinding and symbolic of the city’s stance.
“I don’t think this CP is the right direction, because I want to be really clear to Tarrant County where we are,” Parker said in the meeting. “So that’s my decision today. But it’s not a reflection of my displeasure with the way that they’ve conducted redistricting in Tarrant County; it’s not the right way to do it.”
Councilman Charles Lauersdorf called the proposal partisan. “I find it interesting to say it’s not partisan yet, you look at this proposal, it definitely quite is,” he said. Lauersdorf said he focuses more on his constituents than making a symbolic statement. He said, “You won’t hear about any of that in the news, I assure you because none of it is sexy.”
“That’s where my focus has been, not on a town’s proposal that, quite frankly, at the end of the day is not going to have an impact on what Tarrant County decides to do or what not to do,” he said. “I do hope that whatever they decide to do is for the right reason, and they make the right calls.”
Under the current maps, District 1 extends from far southwest Tarrant County through Fort Worth and east to the area between Arlington and the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. District 2 currently contains Arlington and southeast Tarrant County.
The proposed redistricting maps would redraw the lines for the county commissioners’ districts. In all of the suggested plans, District 1 would extend south of Fort Worth, east to an area near Arlington, then back south, stopping short of Mansfield. District 2 would occupy southern Tarrant County, just below District 1.
The Tarrant County commissioners are composed of four commissioners and the county judge. They voted 3-2 in April to work with the conservative law firm Public Interest Legal Foundation to redraw district boundaries, according to the Fort Worth Report. The Dallas Express contacted PILF Director of Communications Douglas Blair, but he declined to comment, citing attorney-client privilege.
Councilman Chris Nettles presented the resolution condemning Tarrant County’s redistricting. He said in the meeting that redistricting could affect several projects for which the city partners with Tarrant County. He also said county commissioners “killed projects and deals and took money… for whatever racial issues that they have.”
“It is vitally important that we not only put this resolution in motion, but we tell the county that you can’t just affect an entire City of Fort Worth with just redrawing lines,” Nettles said.
Councilman Jared Williams agreed and said Tarrant County had already decided against redistricting in 2021 after the census. “That wasn’t inaction, that was a clear and deliberate act,” he said.
The recent redistricting process was rushed and “dangerous to our democracy,” according to Williams, who called the proposed maps “egregious.”
“This vote is about whether Fort Worth will speak up for its residents or whether or not it’ll remain silent while county-level decisions impact our residents,” he said.
Also during the meeting, the council voted unanimously to appoint Fort Worth Executive Assistant Chief Robert Alldredge as interim chief to fill the vacancy left by retiring Chief Neil Noakes. Alldredge has been serving as acting police chief since Noakes was on leave.
As The Dallas Express reported, a doctor claimed Alldredge directed him to classify city employees so their insurance, and not the department’s worker’s compensation, would cover their injuries.
Nettles, Williams, Councilman Carlos Lopez, and Councilwomen Jeanette Martinez, Deborah Peoples, and Elizabeth Beck signed a May 19 letter announcing the May 20 council resolution. The council members wrote they thought Tarrant County’s redistricting plan would cause “significant issues.”
“Changing precinct lines early could slow down transportation projects Fort Worth residents rely on and undermine the power of minority communities to be heard,” Nettles wrote in the letter.
Lauersdorf said the proposal was brought forth without involving the full council. He asked the other members to just “have the conversation” in the future. “Quite frankly, I’m a little disappointed in that process,” Lauersdorf said.
Parker pointed to similar issues. “I don’t think we’ve had a chance at all to deliberate as a body. I know that every councilor was not contacted,” she said.
Parker said she would offer amendment language to the resolution ahead of the vote. She said the City of Arlington had to hire “outside counsel” to examine the redistricting process.
“I appreciate the language in the resolution, I do, because I do think it was trying to focus on a few issues that we think we all can agree on – transportation projects continue to be a top priority… I don’t agree with the last ‘now, therefore, and whereas,’” Parker said. “You may very well see me at the next few meetings have a more robust resolution to move forward and work with my council colleagues.”
Parker said she feared the issue was dividing the council along partisan lines.
“A few things make me sad today. We’ve said democrat, republican more times than I ever remember in this chamber. And as I had often said, it is irrelevant to city business; it really is,” Parker said. “Every single thing right now feels like it’s about whether you are blue or red – everything. And it is dividing the city, and it is dividing this county, and it is unacceptable.”