Elections chief resigns, citing differences with new Tarrant County judge

In a letter dated April 16, Heider Garcia, who has been the elections director in Tarrant County since 2018, informed county officials of his resignation.

According to the letter, his last day will be June 23, which will allow “sufficient time to complete all work related to the May 6 joint elections, any potential runoff elections in June and a smooth handover of the operation.”

The letter was addressed to County Judge Tim O’Hare, who was elected to office in November, and County Administrator G.K. Maenius. Garcia thanked Maenius for his support and guidance, stating, “Thank you for your leadership, and for just letting election officials do their job and stay out of politics. That means the world to us.”

Addressing O’Hare, Garcia wrote, “My formula to administer a quality transparent election stands on respect and zero politics; compromising on these values is not an option for me. You made it clear in your last meeting that our formula is different, thus, my decision is to leave."

In February, O’Hare formed a county election integrity task force with a goal to look into complaints of election fraud. During a February meeting of the Tarrant County Commissioners Court, Sheriff Bill E. Waybourn said 11 cases of election fraud are under investigation. O'Hare added four cases are being prosecuted from the 2016 election.

In a news release concerning Garcia’s resignation, O’Hare stated the creation of an election integrity task force was all about quality, transparent elections.

“I will be calling a meeting of the county election commission in the coming days to discuss the hiring of a new elections administrator,” O’Hare said in the release.