By Dennis Spellman, Founder, Publisher and Owner, Covering Katy News

There is a long and ugly tradition in American politics of turning the routine into the sinister. The McFarlane campaign has apparently decided that tradition is worth reviving in Fort Bend County.

The campaign has been circulating claims suggesting that Fort Bend County Clerk candidate JJ Clemence who was born in China, has suspicious ties to Chinese Communist Party-affiliated figures. The evidence offered in support of this charge consists of photographs, digitally altered photographs, social media tags, and the fact that Clemence appeared at events alongside far-left state Rep. Gene Wu. I have reviewed these claims carefully. They do not hold up.

It strains credibility for McFarlane to be a supporter of the Donald Trump America First movement when she has never voted in a March Republican primary. Since registering to vote in Fort Bend County she’s only voted in one runoff election.

The Accusations Don’t Hold Up

Here is what is actually true. Clemence worked for two congressmen, Pete Olsen and Troy Nehls. Part of her job was outreach to the Asian community on their behalf. When those congressmen could not attend formal governmental or diplomatic events, Clemence stood in for them. This is standard congressional staff practice. It is not exotic. It is not suspicious. It is the job.

Seating and positioning at governmental and diplomatic events follows established protocol based on rank of representation — federal, then state, then county, then city. Because Clemence was representing a member of Congress, she was positioned where the congressman would have stood. That placed her closer to high-ranking officials than a state representative would be. The McFarlane campaign is apparently treating the rules of diplomatic protocol as a smoking gun. They are not.

Guilt by Association Is Not Evidence

The campaign also raises the specter of Clemence’s association with state Rep. Wu as though proximity to him at an event constitutes evidence of foreign entanglement. This argument falls apart the moment you apply it consistently. At commissioners court, twice a month, Republican commissioners Vincent Morales and Andy Meyers appear in photographs alongside Democrats Dexter McCoy and Grady Prestage. No one suggests that makes Morales and Meyers secret Democrats. The logic the McFarlane campaign is selling to voters would make every elected official in Fort Bend County suspect. McFarlane knows that and she’s selling it anyway.

Then there is the matter of social media. The campaign has pointed to instances where Clemence was tagged in posts by individuals with alleged questionable affiliations. Let me be direct: being tagged in a social media post by another person does not establish that you attended the event depicted, endorsed the subject being celebrated, or had any knowledge the post would be made. People do not control who tags them. This is not a complicated concept. Treating a tag as evidence of wrongdoing is not an investigation. It is a smear.

McFarlane was also willing to drop out of the race, letting Clemence have the GOP nomination if she was allowed to become the county’s election administrator. If she truly believes Clemence is a threat to national security, why would she do that? Those concerns apparently are not so alarming that McFarlane would not trade them away for a different job. Now, faced with that contradiction, she is rewriting history with posts on social media. We covered this issue earlier this week and you can read more here.

Additional stories about Tamara

A So-Called Expert Who Got It Badly Wrong

The campaign’s credibility on this issue was further damaged when it enlisted a self-described China expert who identified a Hispanic county employee and long-time Fort Bend County resident as a high-ranking member of the Chinese Communist Party. When confronted with the absurdity of that claim, the campaign did not retract it. They doubled down. That is not opposition research. That is recklessness, and voters deserve to know it.

I Know Gene Wu’s Wife. Does That Make Me a Spy?

I will note something personal here, because it is relevant. I have covered the Houston news market for 25 years. In that time, I have crossed paths with state Rep. Gene Wu numerous times while on the job. I know Wu’s wife, Miya Shay, a reporter for Houston’s Channel 13. We are not friends, we are acquaintances because of what we do for a living, cover news. But when I covered Houston City Council meetings, assigned seating placed my station’s seat directly next to Channel 13’s seat. When Shay was sent to cover the council, we sat side by side — not by choice, but because that was where our respective stations were assigned to sit. Our paths have crossed at media events many times beyond that, and there may well be photographs of us together sharing a laugh. By the standard the McFarlane campaign is applying to JJ Clemence, that makes me a spy too.

Do we really want to live like that? Is that the new standard?

Texas Law Distinguishes Courtesy Visits From Sister City Agreements

McFarlane claims Clemence and others violated state law by meeting with a Chinese delegation that was on a North American tour. She claims it was evidence of an illegal sister city agreement. However, under Texas law, sister city agreements are distinct from one-time meetings, courtesy visits or cultural exchanges, which do not create an ongoing partnership and do not constitute a sister city relationship.

McCarthyism Has No Place in Fort Bend County in 2026

What the McFarlane campaign is practicing is guilt by association. It has a name: McCarthyism. Younger voters may not recognize the term, so it is worth explaining. In the early 1950s, U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin launched a years-long campaign of accusation, insinuation, and fear, claiming that communists had infiltrated the U.S. government, the military, Hollywood, and American institutions at every level. He rarely produced evidence. He did not need to. The accusation alone was enough. Careers were destroyed. Reputations were ruined. Lives were upended. Innocent people lost their jobs, their standing, and in some cases their will to live — not because they had done anything wrong, but because someone with a microphone and a willingness to lie pointed a finger at them. It took years before the country found the courage to say enough. A lawyer named Joseph Welch finally confronted McCarthy during a televised Senate hearing in 1954 with words that ended his reign: “Have you no sense of decency?” McCarthy was censured by the Senate shortly after. He died in disgrace.

The McFarlane campaign is using the same playbook. It manufactures suspicion where none exists. Ironically, that is precisely the tactic employed by authoritarian governments — including the Chinese Communist Party — to suppress dissent and destroy reputations. The campaign claims to be concerned about CCP influence. It has adopted the CCP playbook. McFarlane grew up in Soviet republic state. Perhaps this is how she think elections are run.

Show Us the Evidence. Or Stop.

I have a direct challenge for the McFarlane campaign: name your sources, produce your evidence, and put it on the record. Not innuendo. Not photographs of people doing their jobs. Not social media tags. Actual evidence. If you have it, show it. If you do not, stop.

When a campaign cannot win on qualifications or policy, some turn to fear and smear. That is what is happening here. Voters should ask themselves a straightforward question: Is someone willing to peddle this kind of politics the person they want serving as Fort Bend County Clerk? Is this the judgment, the integrity, and the character they want in that office?

Covering Katy News does not traffic in innuendo. We report facts and let readers draw their own conclusions from evidence. I have found no credible evidence that JJ Clemence is a Chinese spy, a communist sympathizer, or anything other than a former congressional staffer who did her job — attending events and representing the members of Congress she worked for.

Republican Voters: Staying Home Is a Vote for McFarlane

Republican voter turnout is down. According to early voting data, Republicans have cast 14 percent fewer ballots than Democrats in this race. I suspect GOP voters are tired of the negativity and the mud-slinging. That frustration is understandable. But staying home is not a protest — it is a concession. If you sit out this election, you are in effect casting a vote for Tamara McFarlane. Fort Bend County deserves better than that, and so do you.

Voters in this race for Fort Bend County Clerk deserve a debate about qualifications, experience, and vision for the office. They are instead being fed a diet of insinuation and fear. That is a disservice to the democratic process, and I will not pretend otherwise. McCarthyism destroyed innocent people in the 1950s. It has no place in Fort Bend County in 2026. And if voters do not reject it at the ballot box, do not be surprised when it comes for someone you know — or for you.

Get out and vote.

READ FULL ARTICLE: https://coveringkaty.com/news/fulshear/editorial-smears-lies-and-fear-the-mcfarlane-campaign-playbo/

RICHMOND, Texas (Covering Katy News) — A Fort Bend County Elections Commission member is directly contradicting a claim by Republican primary candidate Tamara McFarlane that she was offered the position of Fort Bend County Elections Administrator.

McFarlane, who is seeking the Fort Bend County Clerk nomination in the March Republican primary, made the claim in a comment posted on the Facebook page of The Chris Heasley Show Presented by Mike Khan, a local video podcast.

“I was offered the Election Administrator role and I proposed my election integrity colleague since I did not want to have a CCP affiliate as the Republican nominee,” McFarlane wrote. McFarlane did not respond to a request from Covering Katy News for an explanation of her claim.

Commission Member: McFarlane Was Never Considered

Bobby Eberle, chairman of the Fort Bend County Republican Party and a member of the Fort Bend County Elections Commission, told Covering Katy News in an exclusive interview that McFarlane’s claim is false.

“She was never offered the job. In fact, she was never even considered,” Eberle said. “Chase (Wilson) was the only one who was considered. For me, Chase was the only logical choice.”

Eberle acknowledged that supporters of both Wilson and McFarlane lobbied for their preferred candidates prior to the vote, but said the commission put so little stock in McFarlane that she was never seriously considered. Wilson was the only candidate they voted on. A separate source told Covering Katy News that McFarlane never submitted a resume, a basic step to be considered for the position.

Unanimous Vote Left McFarlane on the Sidelines

The Fort Bend County Elections Commission voted unanimously in December to appoint Chase Wilson as Fort Bend County Elections Administrator, effective Jan. 1, 2026. Wilson, who had served as assistant election administrator since 2022, replaced John Oldham, who retired Dec. 31, 2025.

The commission is composed of Fort Bend County Judge KP George (R), Fort Bend County Tax Assessor-Collector Carmen Turner (D), Fort Bend County Clerk Laura Richard (R), Eberle, and Jennifer Cantu, chairwoman of the Fort Bend County Democratic Party.

“I think that the Fort Bend County Election Commission has made a wise decision in appointing Chase Wilson as the next Fort Bend County Elections Administrator,” Oldham said at the time of the appointment. “Chase has served eight years in the department, the last four as assistant administrator. He is clearly ready for the job and I firmly believe he is the best choice to provide continuity for the department as we enter a busy election year in 2026.”

Podcast Pushes False Claims Against Clemence

McFarlane posted her comment on the Facebook page of “The Chris Heasley Show Presented by Mike Khan,” a local video podcast. Heasley’s show is produced at a facility owned by Khan who has been soundly defeated in previous Republican primary runs for Precinct 3 Commissioner and State Representative.

The Heasley show has been a platform for a series of false claims targeting McFarlane’s opponent, JJ Clemence. Earlier this month, Heasley featured a guest identified as Solomon Yue, billed as a “CCP hunter” and Republican National Committee official, who recently falsely accused a Hispanic Fort Bend County employee in the office of County Judge KP George of being a high-ranking Chinese Communist Party operative who reported directly to China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The man was sitting next to Clemence in the photo. The man is Hispanic and a longtime Fort Bend County resident, not Chinese. Covering Katy News is withholding his name to protect him from potential retaliation. Read more here.

Yue based his accusation on a photo taken during a Chinese delegation’s visit to Fort Bend County. He claimed the employee was part of that delegation and had been seated next to Clemence as part of a spying operation. When Heasley asked Yue what Clemence’s Chinese name was, Yue did not know, undermining his own credibility as an expert witness.

After Covering Katy News contacted Heasley and informed him that his guest had provided false information, the podcast video claims were removed. Heasley declined to comment and did not respond to a request for a written statement. Hours later, Yue sent a mass text to Republican primary voters openly campaigning for McFarlane — dropping any pretense of being an unbiased expert. McFarlane amplified the false claims on her own social media, calling Clemence “a CCP operative” and accusing her of “using Marxist strategies to spark racial tensions.”

Solomon Yue began openly campaigning for Tamara McFarlane after Covering Katy outed him for making untruthful statements about a county employee.

Heasley has continued to push the conspiracy theory even after being informed his guest was wrong, but has shifted to more carefully worded insinuations rather than direct accusations. While he may believe that strategy will keep him out of legal trouble, the body of his work has been to promote unproven conspiracies against Clemence.

A Lie Designed to Hide a Bigger Story

The timing of McFarlane’s post about the elections administrator job raises serious questions. Throughout the campaign, McFarlane has portrayed Clemence as a threat to national security, repeatedly accusing her of being a Chinese Communist operative. But Covering Katy News has learned that McFarlane’s supporters were privately promising that she would to drop out of the race against Clemence if she was appointed Fort Bend County Elections Administrator. In other words, McFarlane was willing to walk away from the race and hand Clemence the Republican nomination without opposition — the same Clemence she has spent months calling a danger to the country. Her post on the Heasley Facebook page made no mention of that promise. Instead, she portrayed her willingness to step aside as a selfless act, casting herself as someone who put election integrity above personal ambition. What she left out tells a different story entirely.

The Real Prize: Control of Fort Bend’s Elections?

A possible answer to why McFarlane was so willing to abandon her campaign lies in the priorities of the Katy Republican Women’s Club, which has been a driving force behind her candidacy. The club has pushed to eliminate electronic voting machines, claiming they are used to steal elections. But people who are involved in the process in Fort Bend say the opposite is true — removing voting machines and relying solely on paper ballots actually makes cheating easier, not harder. The machines Fort Bend uses produce a paper ballot that voters can review after casting their vote, and one of the key safeguards in modern elections is the ability to compare those paper ballots against machine totals. Eliminate the machines and you eliminate that check, making fraud significantly more difficult to detect, they say. Critics say the real beneficiary of that scenario would be whoever controls the paper — in this case, the Fort Bend County elections administrator, a role that McFarlane’s supporters aggressively pushed for her to have.

One commission member previously told Covering Katy News that the lobbying effort to get McFarlane into the position of elections administrator “made a lot of people feel very uncomfortable.”

A Campaign Built on Questionable Claims

The elections administrator claim is not the first time questions have been raised about McFarlane’s statements or campaign conduct. McFarlane has repeatedly touted an endorsement from state Rep. Steve Toth, but Toth has not confirmed the endorsement, and Covering Katy News obtained a text message in which he denied endorsing her. McFarlane continues to promote the claimed endorsement on her social media. Read more here.

McFarlane’s campaign has also been linked to the circulation of an altered photo that appears to show her opponent, JJ Clemence, voluntarily standing in front of a Chinese Communist flag. The photo also darkened her skin. Read more here.

Questions About McFarlane’s Republican Credentials

Questions have also been raised about McFarlane’s Republican credentials. Despite seeking the Republican nomination for county clerk, McFarlane has never voted in a Republican March primary. Her only participation in a GOP primary election was a single runoff, which came at a time when members of her Katy Republican Women’s Club were on the ballot. 

Her first campaign treasurer, former Katy ISD school board president Victor Perez, resigned from the campaign, citing negativity and divisiveness. Read more here.

Multiple witnesses have also described a profanity-laced outburst by McFarlane in the parking lot of a business where a Republican event was held. In that case Daniel Wong is said to have been placed in a car and rushed from the scene by his advisors as McFarlane and another woman began heading in their direction. 

McFarlane faces JJ Clemence in the March Republican primary for Fort Bend County Clerk.

READ FULL ARTICLE: https://coveringkaty.com/news/fort-bend/tamara-mcfarlane-lied-about-being-offered-fort-bend-county-e/