Commissioner Simmons on the Proposed Maps for Tarrant County Redistricting

As anticipated, the County Judge and his minions at the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) have released five proposed redistricting maps, and every single one is designed to make it nearly impossible for the people of Southeast Tarrant County, Precinct 2, to have their vote count. Let’s be clear: this is a calculated attempt to strip representation from the very communities that I was elected to represent.

Precincts 1 and 2 are the only districts in Tarrant County where the majority of voting-age residents are people of color. Commissioner Roderick Miles and I represent communities that have repeatedly shown the ability and determination to elect candidates of their choice. And now, those voices are under direct attack.

At the April 2nd Commissioners Court meeting, we laid out the facts: PILF is not a traditional law firm. It is an extreme, ideologically motivated organization with a documented history of undermining voting rights, particularly for communities of color. Their involvement in this process was no accident. It was a deliberate choice by the county judge to bring in a group whose mission is to weaken the power of minority voters.

We are now watching their plan unfold in real time. The boundaries in each of the proposed maps shred the voting strength of minority citizens in Commissioner Precinct 2 and other parts of Tarrant County and were clearly drawn with discriminatory intent. These maps are not about fairness, equal representation, or compliance with the law. They are about protecting political power for those already in control at any cost. Silencing the voters of Precinct 2 is the endgame, plain and simple.

Let me be equally clear: I will not stay silent. I will not stand by while my colleagues manipulate this process to rig the 2026 election. The people of Precinct 2 deserve to choose their commissioner, not have that choice taken from them through racial gerrymandering. I stand with my community, and I will fight this with everything I have.