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Controversial Tarrant County redistricting approved amid public protests and partisan debates

Redistricting approved in Tarrant County amid allegations of racial gerrymandering
Redistricting approved in Tarrant County amid allegations of racial gerrymandering 03:28

Tarrant County commissioners approved a controversial redistricting proposal late Tuesday afternoon. 

It was a long and contentious day at the Commissioners Court with more than 200 people speaking about redrawing boundary lines during public comment.

The majority who spoke were against redistricting, including the mayors of Arlington, Mansfield, and Forest Hills. But there were a good number of speakers who expressed their support. Several used the phrase "don't Dallas my Tarrant." 

"I want to say that I fully support deterring redistricting efforts. These lines haven't been updated since 2010," said Carlos Turcios, the community development committee chairman for the Tarrant Republican Party.  

Commissioners moved into executive session around 3 p.m. after some tense moments between the two Democrats and the three Republicans.

As Commissioner Alisa Simmons expressed all the reasons she is against redistricting, Judge Tim O'Hare abruptly moved to executive session in an effort to limit her comments.

Tarrant County Judge defends redistricting process: "It's 100% about partisan politics"


O'Hare is spearheading this process and has been clear that it's about partisan politics. He wants another Republican seat on the court to ensure conservative leadership for the next decade.

"It's a very divided country and the parties, I'm not sure, have never been further apart in their beliefs," said O'Hare. "I don't apologize for being a Republican. I don't apologize for being a conservative."

"It's not partisan. It is racism."

Tarrant County map 7
Tarrant County

But critics believe it's racial gerrymandering, saying it goes beyond partisan politics and believe it dilutes the voting power of minorities.

"Absolutely, it's not partisan. It is racism," Simmons said during the meeting.

The new map does appear to take areas with high Black and brown populations from precinct two and put them in precinct one.

"This is racial gerrymandering," said Simmons. "You can't put the majority of communities of color into one precinct and remove the key economic engines. You're taking the stadiums out of precinct 2, Globe Life, Texas Live! and taking downtown Fort Worth out of precinct 1. I mean, this is racist."

SMU political science professor Calvin Jillson said what the court did is not unusual, but the legality of the new lines comes down to intentions.  

"Oh, this absolutely gerrymandering – it is the redrawing of electoral boundaries for partisan purposes," said Jillson. "The question is whether the purposes behind the redrawing were actually political, in which case gerrymandering is legal, or racial discrimination, in which case it would not be legal."

"I recalled stories my grandmother told me of the Jim Crow rule in Louisiana. I witnessed that today. The suppressing of the vote of black and brown people," said Reverend Doctor Patrick Moses, the pastor of First Missionary Baptist Church.  

New map revealed days before scheduled vote

Commissioners moved to vote on map 7, a new option that was only publicly revealed late Friday afternoon.

That means the court and the public only had three days to review it before the scheduled vote.

It's only been nine weeks since commissioners hired a conservative law firm to come up with the maps. They've been widely criticized for the speed of this process. 

The fight will likely continue in court. Democrats have said they plan to mount a legal challenge to this mid-census redistricting effort.

Tuesday evening, State Rep. Tony Tinderholt announced his candidacy for commissioner of the new precinct.

Check out more on the CBS News Texas YouTube page: 

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