Bursting the Commissioners Court’s Bubble
The 100+ citizens politely and not-so-politely fuming at the county administration building downtown last week made their point: Reducing voting locations only hamstrings democracy. Now, county commissioners are tabling until Tue, Sep 1, their vote on whether to close 45% of all polling locations, which is a victory for democracy of sorts. Far-right County Judge Tim O’Hare publicly agreed with the rabblerousers that the current reduction in sites goes too far.
The question remains: Why did it take more than 100 Tarrant County residents Hulking out in a public forum for the commissioners to see the problem? Have O’Hare and his fellow commissioners ever even glanced at a newspaper or flicked on the news since 2024?
Americans are struggling. As U.S. soldiers die (18 so far) and are injured (600 and counting) in a needless war along with Iranian children, everything costs more partly because an international waterway that was 100% open before the war is now closed because of the war. “We had to keep Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon” is a fraudulent argument because “Iran was nowhere close to a nuclear bomb, experts say” (Scientific American, Mar 11). Starting a war on the other side of the world with no way out is one way to fail bigly at keeping everyone from talking about the modern era’s most notorious and far-flung pedophile ring involving you and your billionaire buddies.
Voting our way to safety appears to be the only nonviolent option left. At the commissioners court meeting last week, noted troublemaker and former State Rep. Lon Burnam was carried out by police for becoming a little overwhelmed by the power of Free Speech. Now, he may sue. Another question: Is that what democracy looks like these days? Booting a guy just for catching the Holy First Amendment Ghost? (The suing part? Yeah, that’s totally American. Hallelujah.)
To meet voter enthusiasm — “Likely voters lean more Democratic for November’s midterms, a change from past cycles,” G. Elliot Morris/Substack, Jul 22) — counties nationwide should be going out of their ways to accommodate more voters, not shut them out — and Dem-leaning Black and brown voices are being shut out specifically. Making voting more difficult instead of offering sensible policy solutions to earn votes appears to be the Republican playbook moving forward.
Sabrina Ball
The Tarrant County apparatchik who proposed slashing polling sites almost in half — down from 316 on Election Day to 176 and from a minuscule 50 to only 42 during early voting (Oct 19-30) — is Elections Administrator Clint Ludwig.
The ostensible motive of the allegedly nonpartisan bureaucrat is financial. However, Tarrant County’s “rainy day” funds surpass $83 million, and closing voting sites would save only a paltry $1 million.
This proposed move does not seem to be about money. In a county with well more than 1 million registered voters, this looks more like silencing Black and brown voices that are more than ready to be heard at the ballot box.
As much as we admire Ludwig, thank him for his past military service, and — as outlandish as it is to say — applaud him for standing by the truth that the 2020 presidential election was decided fairly (it was), we can’t help but think that some insidious species of don’t-ask/don’t-tell politics is at play here.
In which case, Administrator Ludwig, no one will admonish you for peeking outside your job-imposed news bubble and understanding, really digesting, that Tarrant County residents want to vote now more than ever and in greater numbers than ever before. Encourage the commissioners to embrace the masses. I never thought I’d say this, but thank God for Tim O’Hare. It’s now up to his court to do the right thing at 10am on Tue, Sep 1, at 100 E Weatherford St and keep all the polls open for the November midterm elections.
$1,000 Reward for Attacks on Alligators
Three alligators have been shot, and two have died at the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge on Lake Worth. Now, Texas Game Wardens are offering $1,000 for information leading to arrests in the attacks. The alligators were shot between May and July. As the two dead gators were abandoned at the refuge, one survived. The money comes from the fantastic 45-year-old nonprofit Operation Game Thief (OGT). If you have information about the shootings, contact OGT at 1-800-792-4263 (GAME). Report tips online via tpwd.texas.gov/warden/connect/ogt or the Texas OGT mobile app or by texting the keyword “TXOGT” and your information to 847411.
Back to School-ish
Now that the state has taken over Fort Worth ISD, pushback from the local daily has softened considerably. Though more than 800 teachers have quit over the past few months and many remaining instructors have bristled at the thought of teaching from a script, the Star-Telegram’s recent headlines would make a reader think all is swell and dandy in Cowtown classrooms: “FWISD’s first school day was success despite campus lockdown, district says”; “Fort Worth ISD begins school year with zero classroom teaching vacancies”; “Fort Worth students see gains on STAAR exam for third straight year, report shows.”
Couple-a things. If STAAR scores are rising, why the need for the state to take over the district again? And if there are “zero classroom teaching vacancies” — noted particularly since so many teachers vamoosed — then why does a simple search on FWISD’s website turn up at least 30 classroom teaching openings? Could it be? Could it be that far-right state leadership is just making shit up and spewing it because they know the press won’t push back but will simply repeat the b.s. as if it were true, just for the press to maintain all-important access to government sources?
If that tack sounds familiar, it’s because that’s what legacy mainstream media across the country does with one particular set of government officials 2,000 times a day. As if you needed any more reason to cancel those subscriptions or change that channel …
This column reflects the opinions of the editorial board and not the Fort Worth Weekly. To submit a column, please email Editor Anthony Mariani at Anthony@FWWeekly.com. He will gently edit it for clarity and concision.
