“And more than that, you’re part of the entire county. You truly are responsible day to day for the responsible management of your entire precinct,” he said. “You don’t just serve as an elected representative. Ramirez says county commissioners are in a unique position in local government. On his website, Ramirez also cites issues such as public safety, border security, fiscal policy and public health. And a lot of that just goes back to the fact that we’ve not strategically planned in that area or in the entire county for the last five years. And it’s spreading northwest, and I fear that we’re not prepared for it, and we haven’t been. Everything’s getting that way to our south. Ramirez calls Precinct 4 the “final frontier.” “I’m born and raised in Tarrant County Precinct 4 in the northwest, and you can’t drive a mile without recognizing that our infrastructure is 10 years behind where we need to be,” he said. He has extensive law enforcement experience, including service as a Fort Worth officer, detective and sergeant, along with assignments to the United States Department of Homeland Security National Gang Unit. Ramirez is president of the Fort Worth Police Officers Association, an elected position in which he serves more than 1,700 civil service employees. Recent campaign finance filings show that Carpenter raised $8,410.73 in the last six months of the year. He also says that if elected he will request a review of the Hart voting machines used in Tarrant County. On his website, Carpenter also cites reducing tax burdens, education and opposing critical race theory and supporting law enforcement. “I believe that the concerted values and what I hold dear is something that matches and definitely resonates with the people of Precinct 4.” “The last thing I want to see is us to become something like a Dallas or Travis County,” he said. “Those are some of the three big issues that I definitely take into consideration when I’m running for county commissioner of Precinct 4,” he said.Ĭarpenter said he is running because he believes the country and Tarrant County are going in the wrong direction. Here’s a closer look at the candidates and where they stand on issues.Ĭarpenter says his top three issues are election integrity, mandates and infrastructure. “This is a race where a few hundred votes either way could make a difference for a candidate,” he said. James Riddlesperger, professor of political science at Texas Christian University, said the Precinct 4 seat is probably solidly Republican, but that most voters won’t pay much attention until closer to Election Day. “It is something that is very resonant among the voters they are trying to connect with,” she said. “In some ways, I see the candidates reflecting the kinds of categories of candidates that I would expect in a Republican primary, in Tarrant County, but with interesting nuances that connect to these broader state and national trends,” she said.ĭeen noted the emphasis on border control among the candidates, which connects to larger, state and national issues, but also appeals to many voters The third Republican candidate, Carpenter, appeals more to the social conservatives in the party, she said. I think that those are the issues that surround the connection to place, to that specific part of the county.”Ĭounty commissioner races are partisan, but Deen said the Republican candidates represent a broad spectrum of their party.īoth Johnson and Ramirez have a list of supporters that include some traditional Republican support. “We’re talking about maintenance of roads, and that sort of thing. “The things that sometimes commissioners get criticized for in terms of how contracts are awarded and that kind of thing directly relates to that infrastructure,” said Rebecca Deen, associate professor of political science and interim associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Texas at Arlington. Key issues for the race that impact all of Tarrant County: growth and infrastructure. It spans 265.7 square miles of Tarrant County, and the commissioner maintains 164.9 miles of County roads.
Precinct 4 is in the northwest corner of Tarrant County and includes portions of 15 municipalities and 10 school districts. Kanyinda is the lone candidate in the primary.
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