Benbrook resident urges council to review Tarrant County redistricting maps, warns of rushed process

BENBROOK, Texas — David Hafer, a Benbrook resident, told the City Council on May 15 that proposed midcycle redistricting by the Tarrant County Commissioners Court could reassign Benbrook into commissioner precincts aligned with Arlington or Mansfield and urged the council to consider a special meeting so local elected officials could respond before the county’s June 2 vote.

Hafer said he had requested an item be placed on the Benbrook council agenda for fuller discussion but that request was denied, so he brought handouts to the public comment period. He presented five draft map options (on the handout), said the county hired a law firm for the effort but that firm told him it did not draw the five options on the handout, and said ‘‘the law requires election districts to be compact and contiguous.’’

Hafer told the council the commissioners had scheduled four public hearings in one week and that three commissioners were pursuing the midcycle redistricting; he said the commissioners’ court had voted 3–2 in April to hire a law firm. He warned the proposals would substantially realign Precincts 1 and 2 and said the changes could reduce Benbrook’s shared interests with its current precinct representation.

Council action and context: Hafer asked the Benbrook council to consider a special called meeting for discussion and potential action before the Tarrant County Commissioners Court votes; the council did not schedule such a meeting at the May 15 session. Hafer’s descriptions of the county process, the number of draft map options and the June 2 vote date were presented as his account to the council; the council did not debate or take formal action on redistricting at the meeting.

Quote: "The law requires election districts to be compact and contiguous," Hafer said while presenting the handout.