O\u2019Hare did not confirm or deny Simmons\u2019 allegation that he pressured appointees and did not answer questions about the potential impact partisan influence could have on the historical commission.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a Republican county, with a Republican commissioners court and every countywide office held by a Republican, Democrats are upset that a Republican is the new chair of the historical commission,\u201d O\u2019Hare said in a written statement. \u201cNothing new under the sun.\u201d<\/p>\n
The county\u2019s board came under scrutiny earlier this year when O\u2019Hare alleged members violated the application and approval process for a historical marker the city of Fort Worth requested to recognize local LGBTQ history<\/a>. Those involved with the application denied his claim and said the standard process was followed.\u00a0<\/p>\n But at O\u2019Hare\u2019s request, the state commission rescinded its approval of the marker application, effectively shutting down the project. The marker would have been located<\/a> at the site of the Rainbow Lounge, a former gay bar raided by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission and Fort Worth police officers in 2009 \u2014\u00a0an incident that led to a reckoning over LGBTQ rights in Fort Worth.\u00a0<\/p>\n At the time, elected officials, former city and county staff and LGBTQ community leaders said O\u2019Hare acted outside of his purview as county judge, setting a dangerous precedent for the politicization of local history and its preservation.\u00a0<\/p>\n In July, county commissioners appointed five new members<\/a>, four Republicans and one Democrat, to the historical board. Republican Commissioner Matt Krause said at the time that the appointments were intended to fill vacancies on the commission and were not picked in response to the controversy surrounding the LGBTQ marker.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bill Perdue, a Republican elected Wednesday to serve as the historical board\u2019s chair, said people on both sides of the political aisle have sought to politicize the commission. He declined to name anyone.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt is an apolitical organization,\u201d Perdue said of the historical commission. He is a 10-year member of the board who previously served as chair and vice chair. \u201cI don\u2019t care what other people may say, and I don\u2019t want it to ever become a political organization.\u201d<\/p>\n Before the historical commission\u2019s election, a nominating committee proposed five members to serve as the commission\u2019s chair, vice chair, secretary, treasurer and parliamentarian. Those nominations were sent to all 19 commission members three weeks in advance of the vote.\u00a0<\/p>\n During Wednesday\u2019s meeting, commission members voted 9-8 against the committee\u2019s nominees.<\/p>\n Clarissa Epps, who was the committee\u2019s pick for chair, said she was surprised her colleagues rejected her nomination. She declined to share her political affiliation but said she hopes politics were not a deciding factor.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe historical commission is nonpartisan. We\u2019re volunteers. We\u2019re serving as the county arm for the Texas Historical Commission. We\u2019re just promoting historic preservation,\u201d Epps said. \u201cYeah, it\u2019s a little surprising to me that any politics would be involved.\u201d<\/p>\n She said she\u2019s confident in Perdue\u2019s ability to lead the commission, and she\u2019s hopeful that \u201cnot much will change.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Billy Wilson, was initially nominated to serve as vice chair. Simmons alleges that O\u2019Hare instructed Perdue to pressure colleagues to vote against Wilson\u2019s election.\u00a0<\/p>\n Perdue said institutional knowledge like his own about how the commission runs is essential to lead. He denied seeking to influence the election for partisan reasons but said he advised Wilson, who is Black, not to accept the nomination to shield him from potential backlash and derogatory comments as chair.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe problem we\u2019ve got is that there still is racism in this city \u2026 and Billy is too valuable a member of this commission,\u201d said Perdue, who is white.\u00a0<\/p>\n Wilson said Perdue did not mention race-related concerns to him, only that Simmons may face backlash if Wilson were appointed as chair.\u00a0<\/p>\n Simmons and O\u2019Hare often clash publicly with each other<\/a> during commissioners court meetings.\u00a0<\/p>\n Simmons told the Report that O\u2019Hare threatened to slash the number of appointees on the historical commission from 19 to five if he didn\u2019t get his way with the nominations. Such a reduction would require a vote of the Republican-majority commissioners court.\u00a0<\/p>\n Wilson, who described himself as an Independent who leans Democrat, said he\u2019s not disappointed that he wasn\u2019t elected as vice chair, noting that commission leadership duties are to process paperwork and follow established guidelines without much room for subjectivity.<\/p>\n Still, he worries that partisan influence and interference from elected officials could impact the public\u2019s interest in serving on the commission.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI believe that his micromanagement and his aggressive manner in which he treats staff have actually caused the county to lose really good people,\u201d Wilson said of O\u2019Hare.\u00a0<\/p>\n After Wednesday\u2019s meeting, Simmons said \u201cit is what it is,\u201d and she can\u2019t change the commission\u2019s leadership.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI have no intention of trying to reverse it, but I want to call it out,\u201d Simmons said. \u201cPeople need to know these things are happening.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Cecilia Lenzen is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at cecilia.lenzen@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n Fort Worth Report is certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative<\/a> for adhering to standards for ethical journalism.<\/p>\n Republish This Story<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Commissioners-court-10.jpg\")
Tarrant County Commissioner Alisa Simmons speaks during a meeting Aug. 19, 2025, at the Tom Vandergriff Civil Courts Building. (Drew Shaw | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n
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