FORT WORTH, Texas — After a heated debate on Tuesday, Republican Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare will hire conservative political consultant Noah Betz to temporarily work in his office.
Tarrant County Commissioners approved hiring Betz for a term of five months, paying him $1,000 a month for the length of his contract. The deal was approved in a party line vote at the bi-weekly Tarrant County Commissioners Court meeting Tuesday morning, with Democrats Alisa Simmons and Roy Brooks voting no.
Betz is being hired as a temporary replacement for an outgoing full-time employee of the county judge while the office seeks permanent replacement.
Betz currently works as the principal of Bluestone Creatives, a consulting firm that produces marketing materials to “secure victories for candidates, political action committees, non-profits, public figures and businesses,” according to his own LinkedIn profile. He is also executive director of the Huffines Liberty Foundation, a think tank founded by former Republican Texas State Sen. Don Huffines.
During the meeting, Commissioner Simmons, who represents southeast Tarrant County, criticized O’Hare for seeking to hire Betz. Simmons argued that O'Hare was exploiting a loophole by seeking to hire a partisan consultant, noting that contractors are not subject to the same legal requirements as full-time county employees, who aren't allowed to work partisan campaigns while working for the county during work hours.
O’Hare countered by accusing Simmons of using county staff to post political content to her account on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter. When Simmons interjected to accuse O’Hare of also posting political commentary, he quickly shut down her rebuttal.
"I am the one talking now," O'Hare said, "so you’ll sit there and be quiet while I talk, and then you can talk later."
This confrontation comes amid several controversial votes that have fallen along party lines at the Tarrant County Commissioners Court.
Six members of the public spoke at Tuesday's meeting to oppose Betz's hiring. One speaker, Doreen Geiger, cited Texas Government Code, which forbids state agencies from using public money to support the candidacy of an officeholder.
"This is a government entity," Geiger said during her time. "It is terribly wrong for this court to spend any tax money to pay for any political consulting or political services of any kind. I am asking you to vote no on this political contract."
The vote on whether O'Hare could hire Betz passed by a 3-2 measure.
As part of his temporary responsibilities with the county judge's office, Betz will engage in economic development activities, respond to constituent concerns and promote community events on social media, O’Hare said.
"I am well aware of his political leanings and political work, but [Betz] also does communications work for people that is not political in nature," O’Hare said Tuesday in response to criticisms about the move. "I can assure the public and the members on this court, we have no intent whatsoever to use [his time working for the county judge's office] for political purposes."
Commissioner Roy Brooks, a Democrat who has served on the commissioner’s court for 20 years but who has already said he will leave his post at the end of his current term, said Tuesday that employing a contractor who is only accountable to the county judge "is unusual in the extreme."
The contract approved by commissioners court does not contain any deliverables or metrics to track performance, Brooks further noted.
The contract the commissioners court approved Tuesday states that Betz will provide support services under the direction of O'Hare.
The contract will begin May 1 and expire on Sept. 30.
