Arlington City Council passes resolution opposing Tarrant County redistricting process

CBS News

a day ago

Arlington City Council passed a resolution Tuesday night opposing the Tarrant County redistricting plans, joining a growing list of elected leaders who are calling for commissioners to halt the process.
"I don't want to become adversarial, but I'll stand up for the residents of my community any day of the week, and I'll continue to fight that battle," said Arlington Mayor Jim Ross.
The push to redraw the precinct boundary lines is being led by Republican County Judge Tim O'Hare, who brought in a conservative law firm in early April to draft five proposed maps. Redistricting typically follows the decennial U.S. Census, which last occurred in 2020.
Republican commissioners have been open in public comments that their goal is to increase GOP representation on the court.
Arlington's resolution urges the court to slow down the process to allow for more community input and legal analysis.
"This is not an anti-redistricting," Ross said. "It's not anti-political parties. I certainly understand that the Supreme Court has said you can redistrict along party lines if that's what you choose to do, but in doing so, you're still obligated to adhere to the laws of the State of Texas and the federal Voting Rights Act."
Ross said outside legal experts also have concerns about using the 2020 census numbers to redraw the precinct boundaries.
"The problem is, you say Tarrant County has grown considerably, yet you use old data that was already evaluated by the previous commissioners court, who found there wasn't enough changes to warrant any redistricting five years ago," Ross said. "If Tarrant County has grown, and I believe it has, you need to redistrict according to what that new data is showing you."
Ross and nine other Tarrant County mayors, including Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker, signed a joint letter to commissioners laying out the potential issues they see with the plan.
The court is set to vote on the proposal on June 3, nine weeks after voting to hire the law firm to come up with the new maps.
"I've never seen a redistricting process move at this speed," said Ross. "You know, typically you're taking, minimum, 6 to 12 months to get things done. It's just not feasible to be able to do it and adhere to the guidelines."
Ross plans to be at next week's meeting to voice his opposition to the process.
CBS News Texas reached out to County Judge Tim O'Hare multiple times for comment on the criticism surrounding the redistricting process and has yet to receive a response.
In an op-ed to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Commissioner Manny Ramirez said, "Now is the time to act, while we can still ensure that Tarrant County's future is shaped by the conservative principles that have made it the greatest place in America."