Mayor blasts new precincts after redistricting

By Michael McCardel

WFAA

Mansfield Mayor Michael Evans said he wasn’t surprised by the 3-2 vote by the Tarrant County Commissioners Court to adopt new precinct lines.

But that doesn’t mean he’s happy with the outcome.

The new map likely gives Republicans an additional seat on the five-member court after dramatically altering Precincts 1 and 2, the two seats held by Democrats.

“Our friends in [Precincts] 3 and 4, they’re in great shape. They’re not touched much at all," Evans said. "But if you’re in Precinct 1, for example, you lose 164 miles of county road. Now that’s a problem."

Republicans who support the new map, including four mayors, say their constituents favor the new boundaries and that there hasn’t been a true redistricting effort since 2011, and the county’s population has exploded since then.

Evans, on the other hand, was one of eight mayors, including Fort Worth and Arlington, who sent a letter asking commissioners to hold off on the vote, calling the map “flawed.”

Commissioners considered seven maps in total, with Map No. 7 winning the vote. But Evans claims that particular map wasn’t delivered to cities, including his, and he says it wasn’t featured at any of the listening sessions throughout the area.

“I think those cities that are mostly affected in regard to Precincts 1 and 2, we didn’t receive anything in regard to Map 7 at all,” argued the mayor. “So, when we heard of Map 7, we’re saying, 'OK, what does that look like?'”

Evans made it clear that he thinks voter apathy deserves some of the blame for the new map, which he calls an unintended consequence of folks not getting to the polls.

“But if you get out and vote, you can draw the lines however you want to. But the people should have the opportunity to pick their leaders as opposed to what this looks like, is that you have leaders who want to pick their people,” he argued.

Precinct 2 Commissioner Alisa Simmons, a Democrat, is up for reelection in 2026. But her precinct is now considered to be favorable to the GOP.

And one day after he emotionally announced his retirement from the Texas House, and only minutes after the commissioners voted on the redistricting map, now former Republican State Representative Tony Tinderholt announced his candidacy for Precinct 2 Commissioner.

Evans called the move “suspect,” but stressed that Tinderholt has every right to run for that seat.

As for what happens next, within 24 hours of commissioners approving the map, a group of residents filed a federal lawsuit calling it “racially discriminatory.”

“So, here we go. Here we go with millions of my dollars, and for those people listening, millions of their dollars, whether you’re Democrat or Republican, your money is now going to be spent defending a lawsuit on a process that could have been done better,” Evans said.

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