A 33-page packet tied to former Tarrant County employee Gabriel Rivas IV’s termination appeal includes a transcript attributing the phrase “little gay guy” to Tarrant County Commissioner Alisa Simmons (D-Precinct 2) during an exchange that identifies state Rep. Venton Jones (D-District 100) as the person being discussed.
The packet also contains a transcript in which Simmons told Rivas he had to decide whether to run for her Commissioners Court seat or “lose this position.” Eight days later, after Rivas said he had decided to file, a second transcript states that Simmons presented him with termination and resignation paperwork.
The Dallas Express obtained the packet, which includes Rivas’ written appeal marked Exhibit 1, his termination notice marked Exhibit 2, an unsigned resignation form, a 26-page transcript of a November 17, 2025, conversation marked Exhibit 3 and a separate two-page transcript dated November 25, 2025.
The November 25 transcript does not carry a visible exhibit label in the copy obtained by DX.
Rivas wrote that recordings and transcripts supported his appeal before the Tarrant County Civil Service Commission. The packet does not identify who prepared the transcripts. The Dallas Express submitted a request under the Texas Public Information Act for the underlying recordings but had not received or independently reviewed them before publication.
Transcript identifies Jones
During the November 25 conversation, Simmons appeared to search for Jones’ name.
“Vinton? Venton?” Simmons asked.
“Venton?” Rivas replied.
“Little gay guy,” Simmons said.
“Oh, Venton Jones?” Rivas asked.
“Yeah,” Simmons replied.
Simmons then said Jones was attempting to persuade someone named Marc to run for Tarrant County judge and that Jones wanted to run for Congress. The transcript does not identify Marc by his full name.
Jones represents House District 100 in Dallas County and serves as vice chair of the Texas House LGBTQ Caucus, according to his official House biography.
Simmons is the Democratic nominee challenging Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare (R) in the November 3 election, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
‘Run for that seat or lose this position’
Rivas served as community outreach coordinator in Simmons’ Precinct 2 office.
During the November 17 conversation, Simmons questioned whether Rivas could continue working for her while running for the Precinct 2 seat.
Simmons told Rivas he had to decide “whether or not you’re gonna run for that seat or lose this position.”
“Because I don’t think you can do both. So, I’m struggling,” Simmons continued.
Later in the conversation, Simmons made a more direct statement.
“If you run, one, I’m not endorsing, two, um, you need to resign,” Simmons said.
Rivas responded, “Okay.”
“That’s that,” Simmons said.
Simmons immediately restated her position and connected it to Rivas’ ability to perform his county duties.
“Um. Let me see how, saying that a different way. If you run, I’m not endorsing you. If you run, I truly believe this will impact your work,” Simmons said.
“You’re not going to be able to run a campaign and do the work,” she later told him.
Simmons acknowledged that Rivas had performed his work “for the most part,” but said she had overlooked “a couple of critical errors” that she believed could have warranted termination. She cited missed messages and what she described as past judgment concerns involving media interviews and political activities.
Termination papers follow filing decision
The November 25 transcript records Simmons telling Rivas that he needed to decide quickly.
“Well, I’ve decided I’m filing, so…” Rivas said.
“Okay, well, then you… Okay, alright,” Simmons replied.
“You’re 100% filing?” Simmons then asked.
“Two things… Alright, so. So, I need to change the date on it, but you can take a look at that,” Simmons said.
A bracketed notation in the transcript states that Simmons then printed and gave Rivas a letter of termination and a letter of resignation.
“So you can be terminated for that or you can resign,” Simmons subsequently said. “It’s up to you according to the DA’s office. Either way.”
“You can dispute any of that in the Civil Service process,” she added.
The termination notice was issued by Precinct Administrator Albert Roberts and signed by Simmons. It alleged that Rivas failed to call or report to work on November 18 and November 21 and failed to notify management before arriving late on November 19 and November 20.
The letter cited Tarrant County Civil Service rules governing an employee’s failure to report for work without notifying a supervisor and failure to demonstrate professional behavior supporting team performance. It did not mention Rivas’ candidacy.
Rivas signed the notice to acknowledge receiving it but disputed the allegations in his appeal.
“The letter alleges that I failed to report to work on two occasions during the week of November 17, 2025, and failed to notify management of two late arrivals,” Rivas wrote. “These claims are factually incorrect.”
Rivas said he worked remotely, attended evening meetings and public events, remained available by county phone and computer and followed what he described as the office’s established remote-work practices.
“The sudden claim of attendance issues is a pretext,” Rivas wrote. “The true reason for my termination is that I decided to run for political office.”
Rivas alleged that Simmons’ office manufactured the attendance violations after he refused to abandon his campaign. The termination letter presents the county office’s stated reason for his dismissal, while the transcripts and close chronology form the basis of Rivas’ opposing claim. The records do not independently resolve the dispute.
The paperwork also contains a date discrepancy. The termination notice is dated and signed November 25 but states that Rivas was terminated “as of today, November 24, 2025.” The unsigned resignation form is dated November 24.
When Rivas asked whether the paperwork displayed the 24th as the date, Simmons responded, “Yeah. Uh. 25th.”
The packet does not include the Civil Service Commission’s final decision on Rivas’ appeal.
Simmons discusses county email and staff
The November 17 transcript also records Simmons discussing campaign material sent through county email.
Simmons complained that a campaign-related photography invoice had reached a county account and said the employee should have instructed the sender to use a personal email address.
“We are unable to do campaign business on county time,” Simmons said.
Simmons then referred to a potential open-records request from The Dallas Express and warned that messages sent through the county system could remain retrievable.
“This is the county system, they can go get deleted emails, they can go get forwarded emails,” Simmons said.
The exchange records Simmons warning staff members against conducting campaign business on county time. It does not establish that she directed employees to perform campaign work through county accounts.
Elsewhere in the conversation, Simmons expressed frustration with her employees.
“I am supremely frustrated with my staff. Like, supremely frustrated,” Simmons said.
She said she would “clean house” if she had another year and a half in the Precinct 2 office and claimed she already had potential replacements for several employees.
“Nothing about me should scare anybody,” Simmons said.
Rivas appeared on the March 3 Democratic primary ballot as Gabe Rivas and finished third in the Precinct 2 commissioner race with 8,600 votes, or 19.98%, according to official Tarrant County results. Simmons won the Democratic county judge primary with 105,487 votes, or 61.35%.
Simmons did not respond to The Dallas Express’ request for comment regarding the transcripts and documents before publication.
Provided by Dallas Express
