Disgraced Elections Administrator Gets New Gig in Dallas County

Guess who’s back!

After being run out of Tarrant County for alleged election discrepancies in the 2020 vote-by-mail election, Heider Garcia is now running the elections office right next door in Dallas County. YIKES!

Many Republicans in Dallas County are hoping Dallas Mayor and freshly-minted Republican, Eric Johnson, will bolster his newly discovered conservative brand by calling for Garcia’s removal and push for election integrity. Will he rise to the occasion?

Star-Telegram:

Tarrant County’s former election administrator is headed next door to Dallas County to run its elections.

Heider Garcia resigned from his Tarrant County job in April, citing disagreements with County Judge Tim O’Hare over how to run transparent elections. Now, Garcia said he’s accepted the new position in Texas’ second most populous county, which is politically different than Tarrant despite their shared border.

Before he slithered into Tarrant County, Heider Garcia was run out the Philippines for introducing all kinds of fun new “glitches” into their elections.

O’Hare asked if he could see how Garcia was running the elections post-covid where many election laws were changed/ignored because of the flu. Instead of working with him, Garcia proceeded to bounce right outta town.

When Tim O’Hare asks to take a look at your work

“It’s now the largest election administration office in the state of Texas,” Garcia said in an interview with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, referring to the recent elimination of the office in Texas’ largest county, Harris, after the passage of a new state law.

It’s a big challenge, he said.

“But that’s what we do, right?” Garcia said. “We work to make elections accessible, transparent, fair. I’m really excited for this new challenge.”

Mayor Johnson is in a vulnerable position now that he has officially switched to the Republican Party. He now needs strong Republican support to stay in office.

Since Garcia allegedly dropped the ball 2020, voter turnout has dropped in Tarrant County. Some voters cite a lack of trust in the election process as their reason for abstention.

We all know that guy

Johnson needs to reassure Republican voters that if they turn out to vote for him in Dallas County, their vote will actually count and the election is legit. If he can’t convince them, many simply won’t turn out to support him.

The county’s human resources director told commission members, including Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, there were about 10 candidates who applied but only two who met preferred qualifications. It was preferred that candidates had previously been an election administrator or second in command in a county or city of more than 100,000 people.

After coming back from executive session, during which Jenkins said candidates were interviewed, it was voted 4-1 that Garcia was being hired for the job.

The election commission includes Jenkins, Vice Clerk John Warren, County Tax Assessor Collector John Ames, Dallas County Democratic Party Chair Kardal Coleman and Dallas County Republican Party Chair Jennifer Stoddard-Hajdu, who was the sole vote against Garcia’s appointment.

When all the Democrats approve of someone, that is usually a pretty good indicator of where that person stands.

“We should do the same job whether it’s a red or a blue or a purple... commissioners court,” he said.

The voters should always come first, he said.

Those are fine platitudes to uphold, because in reality it doesn’t matter. Trust, transparency, and results are all that matter.

If Republican voters start skipping elections entirely due to a lack of faith in the process, Dallas County Republicans and Mayor Johnson should be worried. They have their work cut out for them, and it starts and ends with the elections administration.