Gloves come off in Tarrant Commissioners Court meeting

On Tuesday, the Tarrant County Commissioners Court meeting descended into chaos with the county judge going at it with one of his commissioners.

During a briefing on election administration, Commissioner Alisa Simmons repeatedly asked Attorney Mark Kratovil whose call is it to use pre-numbered ballots or blank ballots.

Kratovil said he could not give a firm response, citing attorney-client privilege.

So Simmons made a motion to waive that attorney-client privilege and have Kratovil answer her question.

The initial vote as shown on the tote board was 3-2, with Republican Gary Fickes voting with Democrats Simmons and Roy Charles Brooks.

After the vote was shown, Judge Tim O'Hare asked Commissioner Fickes, "Are you voting for this?"

That's when the fireworks started, with both O'Hare and Simmons raising their voices at one another.

Ultimately, Fickes changed his vote, and the motion failed along party lines.

Fickes tells KRLD news that despite what the tote board showed, he does not recall casting an initial vote.

"If I had voted (as indicated), I would have changed it," Fickes tells KRLD. "I certainly didn't intend to vote for that."

KRLD texted Judge O'Hare asking for a clarification on exactly what happened, and he asked to direct all inquiries to his office.

As of the publication of this story, O'Hare's office has not yet replied to our request for clarification.

However, KRLD did speak to O'Hare's predecessor, Glen Whitley, for insight on how the voting mechanism works.

Whitley told KRLD that commissioners will normally keep their "yes" light on, since most votes cast during Commissioners Court meetings are not controversial.

Therefore, it is entirely possible that Fickes may not have changed the light at his desk to "no" before the tote board lit up.

Simmons later posted on social media that this is not the first time O'Hare has influenced Fickes' vote during Commissioners Court.

"This was his (O'Hare's) 4th time influencing this man's (Fickes') vote," Simmons posted on her official X feed.

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