Simmons' Middle Finger Filibuster: Tarrant County Meeting Turns Juvenile
Tarrant County Commissioner Alisa Simmons gave County Judge Tim O'Hare the middle finger when he cut off her filibuster in a meeting that ultimately resulted in redistricting.
'Sadly, not the least bit surprising,' O'Hare told The Dallas Express.
The county commissioners met June 3 to deliberate a redistricting proposal, which ultimately passed, and which, as The Dallas Express reported at the time, gave Republicans an advantage in future elections.
Simmons and Commissioner Roderick Miles Jr. voted against the effort, while O'Hare and County Commissioners Matt Krause and Manny Ramirez voted in favor.
Ahead of the vote, Simmons demanded lawyers with the conservative law firm Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) – which helped draw the new map – come out from a back room to face public questioning. O'Hare informed her the lawyers planned to consult with commissioners, but officials did not have subpoena power. Then, Simmons launched a filibuster.
'They're going to bring their butts out here, and stand at that podium, and answer my questions,' she said, as The Dallas Express reported. 'I'm going to continue speaking until they make their way out here.'
After Simmons spoke for several minutes – calling the proposed redistricting 'racial gerrymandering' and 'intentional discrimination' and criticizing PILF – O'Hare questioned whether her comments were on topic. He called for a closed session to discuss parliamentary procedure.
Then, she flipped him the bird.
Keller Mayor Armin Mizani – who supported redistricting – called Simmons '[u]nfit to serve.' 'If you can't have a policy discussion and debate without acting like an entitled 13 year old, then you are unfit to serve in any elected office,' he posted to X.
Simmons has a history of obscenity in public forums.
Earlier this year, when a speaker used obscenities during a meeting, she defended the actions – using an 'expletive' in an interchange with O'Hare, according to KERA. As The Dallas Express previously reported, Simmons also ran for Texas House District 94 in 2020, when she was caught on tape using vulgar profanities with a voter.
The Dallas Express reached out to Simmons' office but did not hear back in time for publication.
Simmons said in the meeting she was concerned redistricting would 'put the majority of the communities of color in one precinct' and remove the 'key economic engines,' as The Dallas Express reported at the time.
The same day, O'Hare posted on X that redistricting is about taking political ground – citing similar Democrat efforts in Dallas, Harris, Bexar, and Travis counties. 'Far too often Democrats take ground while Republicans cede it,' he posted. 'That is no longer the case in Tarrant County.'
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