Kathleen Hicks

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Kathleen Hicks

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

May 28, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

Mount Holyoke College, 1994

Graduate

Nottingham University, 1996

Personal

Birthplace

Sherman, Texas

Religion

Catholic

Profession

Administrator

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Kathleen Hicks (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Tarrant County Commissioners Court to represent District 1 in Texas. She lost in the Democratic primary runoff on May 28, 2024.

Hicks completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Kathleen Hicks was born in Sherman, Texas. Hicks earned a bachelor's degree from the Mount Holyoke College in 1994 and a graduate degree from Nottingham University in 1996. Her career experience includes working as an administrator.

As of 2024, Hicks was affiliated with the following organizations:

• Red Cross Greater North Texas
• Fort Worth Modern Arts Museum
• James L. West Center for Dementia Care
• Jordan Elizabeth Harris Foundation
• Amon Carter Museum Ambassadors Board
• NAACP
• Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc

Elections

2024

See also: Municipal elections in Tarrant County, Texas (2024)

General election

General election for Tarrant County Commissioners Court Precinct 1

Roderick Miles Jr. defeated Michael Barber in the general election for Tarrant County Commissioners Court Precinct 1 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Roderick Miles Jr. (D)	57.3	96,615
	Submit photo	Michael Barber (R)	42.7	72,049

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	There were no incumbents in this race. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 168,664
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Rebekah Arrington (Independent)

Democratic primary runoff election

Democratic primary runoff for Tarrant County Commissioners Court Precinct 1

Roderick Miles Jr. defeated Kathleen Hicks in the Democratic primary runoff for Tarrant County Commissioners Court Precinct 1 on May 28, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Roderick Miles Jr.	62.2	4,576
		Kathleen Hicks	37.8	2,785

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 7,361
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Tarrant County Commissioners Court Precinct 1

Kathleen Hicks and Roderick Miles Jr. advanced to a runoff. They defeated Mia Hall and Darryl Brewer in the Democratic primary for Tarrant County Commissioners Court Precinct 1 on March 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kathleen Hicks	36.9	7,740
✔	Submit photo	Roderick Miles Jr.	31.5	6,608
		Mia Hall	24.7	5,187
	Submit photo	Darryl Brewer	6.8	1,433

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 20,968
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Tarrant County Commissioners Court Precinct 1

Michael Barber advanced from the Republican primary for Tarrant County Commissioners Court Precinct 1 on March 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Michael Barber	100.0	17,754

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 17,754
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Hicks in this election.

2012

See also: Texas' 33rd Congressional District elections, 2012

Hicks ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. House to represent Texas' 33rd District. She was defeated by Domingo Garcia and Marc Veasey in the Democratic primary on May 29, 2012.

U.S. House, Texas District 33 Democratic Primary, 2012

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Marc Veasey Incumbent	36.8%	6,938
Domingo Garcia	25%	4,715
Kathleen Hicks	12.6%	2,372
David Alameel	10.9%	2,064
Manuel Valdez	4.7%	884
Steve Salazar	2.6%	482
Chrysta Castaneda	2.1%	395
Jason E. Roberts	1.8%	342
Carlos Quintanilla	1.5%	286
Kyev Tatum, Sr.	1.1%	201
J. R. Molina	1%	189
Total Votes		18,868

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Kathleen Hicks completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Hicks' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Kathleen Hicks is the youngest elected female to the Fort Worth City Council. She was also elected Mayor Pro Tem at the age of 33 making her one of the youngest individuals to be second in command in the 13th largest city in the country.

Hicks was educated at Mount Holyoke College, the oldest women’s college in the country, where she graduated with Honor’s in History and Politics. She spent her junior year abroad at Oxford University. She returned to England to receive a Master’s in International Relations from Nottingham University which she completed in one year.

Kathleen cokes from a family of change agents. Her mother, Judge Maryellen Hicks, was appointed a Municipal Court Judge at the age of 27 and has gone on to break many glass ceilings. Kathleen is no different having lead the Renaissance Square development, the largest such development in south east Fort Worth which brought a grocery store to a food desert, quality affordable housing, and good paying jobs. After 20 years of infighting, she ensured the important road, East Rosedale, was reconstructed. Under her leadership, the first new police station was opened in a generation, the Nashville Station, which replaced the constantly flooding dilapidated old building. In fact under her tenure, countless new city faculties were opened to serve residents: from the fire station at Spinks Airport to the Hazel Harvey Center for Neighborhoods. Kathleen will bring this same can do spirt to Precinct 1 if elected!

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Empowering residents! This has always been key to Kathleen’s leadership style. Everyone must have a place a the table. She will create a Precinct 1 Advisory Board to ensure citizens are engaged and active members. Kathleen wants to be as pro-active as possible rather than re-active to the issues we face.
• Kathleen is committed to ensuring healthcare is a right to the residents of Tarrant County. After all, tax payers fund JPS. JPS Health System is the county hospital which serves many residents. Kathleen wants to ensure that wait times in the emergency room are less than one hour, that individuals do not have to wait countless hours to get prescriptions nor should they have to wait weeks for visits with their doctors. 76104, where JPS is located, has the highest mortality rate in the country. We all must change that. We must start at JPS.
• Economic development is extremely important to Kathleen having made it a cornerstone of her efforts while serving on the City Council. She will work in every area of the precinct to bring quality development that benefits all residents and not just a few.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Infrastructure, Economic development, affordable housing

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I look up to my mother who battled racism and sexism and never let it stop her. As a single mother (my father died in an auto mobile accident before I was born) she a philanthropist, taking on countless bro bono work. I never knew how difficult we financially we had it in the early years, after she first lost election before she was appointed to judgeship.

From environmental racism to getting a freeway re-named after Dr King in the early 1980s (which was very controversial then) she is my roll model of moving forward despite many struggles. We might choose very different paths to get there, but we still get there.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

I can’t think of anything. Please know that I am open, honest, and always ready to listen to constituents!

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

I think an elected official should never stop learning. The day you think you know it all is the day you need to retire. You can and must learn from the residents you serve, from your colleagues and from what other communities are doing right. We don’t always have reinvent the wheel. Moreover, I know that it is critical to try to work with everyone. I am disappointed in how partisan politics prevents us from making progress. As elected officials, my hope is that we think first about the good of Tarrant County.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I am a voracious reader! My grandmother Kathleen taught me to read and write by age 3 and thus, I love reading. I read my council packets each week from start to finish. I’m sure it drove staff crazy but I never wanted to vote on something I knew nothing about. I take my responsibility as an officeholder very seriously.

A successful officer hold should never think they are above anyone. From the janitor to the President, it is terribly important to treat everyone with the same kindness.

Moreover, I have and will never changed. I am still the person who will go put up my own signs, walk door to door, make the phone calls, etc.

I am always disappointed when I see office holders change. You will always get the same Kathleen who cares and who listens.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

I think is paramount to be transparent. I think as servants of the people we must be a available and not hide behind staff. I enjoy talking to residents even if they are angry at an issue. It helps me re/think issues. I will always vote to reflect the needs and wants of the residents of the residents of precinct 1.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I hope that I will be remembered as a change-agent. From the biggest economic development in south-east Fort Worth, to jumpstarting progress at Texas Wesleyan University, I am committed to leaving this world better than when I entered it.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

I remember watching the debate between President Jimmy Carter and the Governor Ronald Reagan with my mother. I was 8 years old and I was fascinated. I also remember the Iran Hostage Crisis. I was interested in politics and international relations from a VERY young age!

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

At 15 I got a job cleaning bed pans for a group of retired nuns. I keep the job throughout university, working there summers and during breaks.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. She delves in to issues like black womens hair and Africans v African-Americans which really spoke to me having lived and worked in Kenya at a refugee camp.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

A nerd!

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

‘Murder on the Dance Floor’ because of the recent film Saltburn

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

I have always struggled with never knowing my father. He was a very smart man who served his country in the military and already had his own business when he died. I hope I make him proud.

Tell us your favorite joke.

I tend not share jokes. I worry about offending someone!

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Dr Camille Rodriguez, Fort Worth ISD President of the Board

Deborah Peoples, first black chair of the Tarrant County Democratic Party

Judy Needham, former member of FWISD

Marty Leonard

Greg Hughes, Karol Parker, Kelly Smith, Claire Wood, Precinct Chairs

Rev Reginald Andrews

Rev Walter R. McDonald

Rev Carl Pointer

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

I feel we must be absolutely transparent in all matters. After all, these are YOUR tax dollars.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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Tarrant County Commissioners Court Precinct 1

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