Racist statement by County Judge Tim O’Hare anchors plaintiffs’ motion for preliminary injunction
A ferocious legal battle is underway against the overtly racially discriminatory county commissioners map rammed down the throats of Tarrant County citizens last month. The map erases Commissioners Precinct 2 as a compact and representative majority-minority commissioners precinct in southeast Tarrant County and replaces it with a majority Anglo precinct that extends to the western-most border of the county, distorting both the racial and political makeup of Tarrant County. If the motion is approved, the map may be blocked from use until the full complaint is settled.
The motion for preliminary injunction details the extreme racial packing and cracking within the illegal map. It provides details on how over 150,000 mostly minority citizens are literally disenfranchised by being forced to wait a full six years to cast a ballot for their commissioner. Most notably, though, the motion explains how on the very day of the vote, MAGA extremist County Judge Tim O’Hare gave an explicitly racist reason for adopting the new map. The brief in support of the motion reads:
On the day he cast the deciding vote to reduce from two to one the number of majority minority commissioner precincts, Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare said the following in a television interview: “The policies of Democrats continue to fail Black people over and over and over, but many of them keep voting them in. It’s time for people of all races to understand the Democrats are a lost party, they are a radical party, it’s time for them to get on board with us and we’ll welcome them with open arms.” App. 16.
A government official may not, consistent with the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, cast the deciding vote to redraw district lines in a way that minimizes a racial group’s voting power because he disapproves of how “Black people” cast their ballots and thinks that “people of all races” should change their views because “it’s time for them to get on board with us.” This is textbook intentional racial vote dilution, spoken out loud. It does not matter whether partisanship was some or even most of the motivation. The deciding vote was cast at least in part because of an intent to dilute voting power on account of race, and the resulting map is unconstitutional. [emphasis added]
The entire brief can be READ HERE.
O’Hare set to give $250,000 in taxpayer funds to out-of-state anti-voting rights legal group
The fierce and expensive legal battle was predicted from the outset. Redistricting experts, journalists, and hundreds of citizens speaking in formal hearings warned that adopting the racist map would lead to bitter litigation that would cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars.
The predictions are now playing out. O’Hare has put a request to pay $250,000 to the Public Information Legal Foundation (PILF) on the Tuesday, July 1st Commissioners Court agenda. The Virginia-based legal organization exists to undermine voting rights and fair access to the ballot. O’Hare’s sweetheart deal with PILF not only pays them big fees but waives their obvious conflicts of interest created by their participation in drawing and forcing through the illegal map.
Speak Out Against Legal Fees to PILF
Tarrant citizens have played a key role in exposing and building a strong record against the discriminatory intent of O’Hare and his allies on the Commissioners Court. If you live in Tarrant County, sign up to speak AGAINST Agenda Item A-1 (REPORTS AND BUSINESS) – the $250,000 payment to PILF.
Visit the Tarrant County Website and fill out a public comment form to make your voice heard during the meeting tomorrow morning. THE DEADLINE TO REGISTER IS TODAY (5:00 pm CST)
To watch Tim O’Hare attack citizens for exercising their right to free speech, CLICK HERE
For more background on the intentional discrimination in Tarrant County, CLICK HERE
