Tim O’Hare has had a problematic tenure as Tarrant County judge. The hostile handling of meetings — including ordering speakers removed — and undemocratic decisions, such as reducing the number of polling places ahead of a midterm election, are troubling. The way Tarrant County is managing its finances is also concerning.
Running against O’Hare, a Republican, is Commissioner Alisa Simmons. We recommend the Democratic candidate with reservations. Simmons, 63, has had frequent clashes with O’Hare. It is true that the incumbent county judge sometimes cuts her off while she is speaking, but Simmons has not always reacted well, including an instance in which she made an obscene gesture. Simmons told us she gets along well with the other commissioners, and she’s tired of the constant fighting in the court, but we are not confident she would lead toward more civility.
Simmons has been critical of the finances of the county government, and while she was supportive of tax cuts early in her tenure, she has voted against lower tax rates in the last two budget cycles. She told us she wants to right-size the budget and supports a no-new-revenue rate.
Simmons was also critical of the county’s use of more than $7.7 million in reserves to cover unbudgeted costs, including overtime at the sheriff’s office in 2025, which suggests poor planning.
Simmons told us she supports fully funded public safety infrastructure as well as investments in community programs. In her view, outsourcing of some services, such as rental assistance for low-income residents, was not fully thought through. The nonprofit in charge of this assistance was projected to run out of funding before its contract ended.
O’Hare did not answer our Voter Guide questionnaire and didn’t attend a candidate interview. On his website, he cites lowering taxes and “cutting wasteful spending” as his accomplishments.
O’Hare has used his platform for hyperpartisanship, including his unfounded ideas about election integrity. In 2023, the elections administrator Heider Garcia resigned over disagreements with the county judge. O’Hare has also pushed for removing early voting sites and led a mid-decade redistricting effort. The court also cut funding for bus rides to the polls for low-income residents. In 2025, this Editorial Board said O’Hare does not treat voting as a sacred right to be protected and encouraged, but as a source of suspicion.
Under O’Hare’s leadership, speakers at commissioners court have been removed or criminally charged for cursing, clapping or insulting commissioners or for going past their allotted time to speak during the public-comment period. Some of these removals were justified, but others raise concerns. One man was expelled for speaking eight seconds over his allotted time, and then he faced a yearlong ban from the building, KERA News reported.
We believed Republicans should have elected someone like former Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price to this seat. She would have done the job well and treated those who serve or appear before the court with respect. O’Hare has failed at that.
Simmons was not the best candidate for Democrats in their primary either; U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey dropped out of the race early on. But between Simmons and O’Hare, she is the better choice.