Precinct 4 Tarrant County Commissioner Manny Ramirez listens to public comment concerning the decrease in voting locations on Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026 in Fort Worth.
Abigail Dollins
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Tarrant County Commissioner Manny Ramirez told a constituent that most of the people who speak out at meetings are paid by political organizations, according to a recording of the conversation.
Since the three Republicans on the Commissioners Court began to redistrict commissioners precincts in April 2025, more residents have become fixtures at the government meetings.
Each month, roughly a dozen are consistently in the audience, though the number swells depending on the agenda. Many of those same people address the commissioners during public comment to say their two cents on the decisions being made that day.
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In a Sept. 29 private meeting with retired Oklahoma City news anchor Jack Bowen, Ramirez said he thinks many of them go to Fort Worth City Council meetings too.
“So it’s an organized political organization that most of these folks — when I say most, probably 75% — are actually paid by the political organizations that they show up to voice their causes for,” Ramirez said on the recording.
He said they are not ordinary citizens just wanting to voice their opinions but political activists organizing “to turn Tarrant County Democratic.”
In a statement to the Star-Telegram, Ramirez didn’t outright say if he does or does not believe it to be true.
“There is a clear difference between residents exercising their right to address their government and professional political activists whose livelihood depends on generating controversy,” the statement said. “Whether through podcasts, newsletters or social media, political outrage can be profitable. Commissioners Court should remain focused on serving taxpayers, not becoming a platform for organized political grandstanding.”
In a conversation with the Star-Telegram, Bowen said he decided to meet with Ramirez as his constituent because the commissioner rarely speaks in meetings. Bowen wanted to know Ramirez’s perspective about how Commissioners Court has become a spectacle with people being ejected (and arrested) from meetings and disputes between elected officials on the dais.
Bowen did not disclose to Ramirez that he was recording, which is legal in Texas. When Ramirez claimed most of the speakers during public comment are paid, Bowen was taken aback and now wishes he had pushed the commissioner on the statement.
Bowen shared the audio with some of the frequent flyers at Commissioners Court, who made sure to tell Ramirez they weren’t being paid. About 10 people mentioned it, agitated by the comment.
“I wait for several hours just to get my one minute of time for comment,” Deborah Kratky said. “Then I have to drive 30 minutes to get back home. By the time my blood pressure is literally through the roof, so no, Commissioner Ramirez, you can’t pay me enough to do this. I do it because I love Tarrant County, maybe more than you.”
Another resident accused the commissioner of ignoring public commenters because they don’t support him.
“Over 100 residents showed up to speak against cutting polling locations,” Stephanie Graham said Tuesday. “You voted for the cuts, anyway. Then you accuse citizens of being paid to speak. Interesting. Campaign donors get your ear. Ordinary citizens get your suspicion. We brought our voices, not our wallets. Maybe that’s why you weren’t listening.”
Though he doesn’t know for sure, Bowen doesn’t believe that Ramirez really thinks people are being paid.
“I think Commissioner Ramirez knows that 75% of the people who protest against things, I think he knows 75% of people aren’t being paid,” Bowen said. “I think that’s kind of a popular political tagline right now. ‘Everybody’s being paid. Anybody who disagrees with me, they’re just being paid to disagree with me.’”
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Rachel Royster is a news and government reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, specifically focused on Tarrant County. She joined the newsroom after interning at the Austin American-Statesman, the Waco Tribune-Herald and Capital Community News in DC. A Houston native and Baylor grad, Rachel enjoys traveling, reading and being outside. She welcomes any and all news tips to her email.