Mayors clash with Tarrant County judge over "unlawful" redistricting plan
The Brief
A proposed redistricting plan for Tarrant County, led by County Judge Tim O'Hare, could split Arlington into three districts.
Arlington Mayor Jim Ross and nine other Tarrant County mayors oppose the plan, citing a lack of transparency, insufficient community involvement, and potential violations of state law and the Voting Rights Act.
The Tarrant County Commissioners Court is scheduled to vote on the new maps on June 3, with legal challenges expected if approved.
TARRANT COUNTY, Texas - Proposed redistricting maps for Tarrant County, if adopted, could see the city of Arlington split into three separate districts.
The plan is led by Republican county judge Tim O'Hare to re-draw the county's district lines.
What they're saying
Mayor Jim Ross says that would be cumbersome for Arlington residents, but it isn't necessarily a bad thing. He points to additional issues.
"I've never seen a redistricting process go this quickly without any significant community involvement whatsoever," said Ross. "Where I draw the line in speaking up and standing in opposition to things is if it is done outside the boundaries of the law, and it is done without sufficient transparency."
Ross tells FOX 4 that an expert law firm out of Austin was hired to examine what has been done or not with the Tarrant County commissioners' court.
"They've come back to us with a report that there appear to be violations of state law, and the voting rights act federally. That's when I reached out to other mayors…"
Ross is the mayor who initiated the letter of opposition addressed to county judge Tim O'Hare, that was signed by 9 other Tarrant County mayors, mostly from the southern sector.
Mayor Ross says he reached out to O'Hare before sending the letter.
"I told Judge O'Hare our preference was to pull it off the agenda for June 3 and let's slow the jets a little bit and look at this thing thoroughly, and we could be collaborative on it. He told me 'I'm not pulling it off the agenda. I'll see you June 3rd.'"
O'Hare has said redistricting is needed due to demographics that have changed. Ross feels there isn't enough data to make any adjustments.
"When you say there's been a change, yet you use the data from a census report from five years ago, you're using old data, but saying there's new changes. Well, the commissioners' court looked at that old data five years ago and didn't find it sufficient to make any adjustments."
Mayor Ross states sufficient data needs to be presented to show that redistricting is not for the purpose of discriminating against minority demographics.
"There's other ways of getting that demographic data to prove your point, but you need that data in order to show that you're not discriminating against minority groups. That's required by the voting rights act."
A group of elected officials led by U.S. congressman Marc Veasey on Tuesday expressed opposition, calling the effort unlawful and discriminatory to minorities.
Dig deeper
With the vote on the new map scheduled for June 3, FOX 4 reached out to Judge O'Hare's office for a response.
In early April, the commission voted 3 to 2, with commissioners Alisa Simmons and Roderick Miles opposing, to approve a contract with the Public Interest Legal Foundation to provide consultation with re-drawing district lines.
FOX 4 contacted the group on Wednesday for feedback on its work, but it has not yet responded.
The Source
FOX 4's Dionne Anglin gathered details for this story at a town hall event hosted by Congressman Mark Veasey, as well as an interview with Mayor Jim Ross.
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