Both County Clerk candidates J.J. Clemence and Tamara McFarlane have purchased campaign advertising on CoveringKaty.com at the same rate, with ads running in identical locations on the website for the same duration. Advertising with us doesn't shield candidates from scrutiny.
FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas (Covering Katy News) — Covering Katy News endorses JJ Clemence for Fort Bend County Clerk in the March 3 Republican primary election.
Endorsements are rare for this publication. We cover the news. We let readers draw their own conclusions. But what we have witnessed over the past two months in this race has compelled us to do something we almost never do — tell you directly who we support and why.
JJ Clemence Brings Unmatched Experience to the Fort Bend County Clerk Race
From the moment JJ Clemence announced her candidacy it was clear she was the superior candidate. Her resume is exceptional. She is a certified internal auditor with more than 20 years of experience spanning Fortune 500 companies, congressional offices, Fort Bend ISD and Harris County Public Health, where she built an entire internal audit function from the ground up. She has been appointed twice by Gov. Greg Abbott to state commissions. She founded a nonprofit dedicated to youth development. She holds an MBA. She has the experience, the accomplishments and the temperament this office demands.
The Fort Bend County Clerk's office is not glamorous. It handles vital records, court filings, property documents and public records access. It requires precision, accountability and professionalism. JJ Clemence is exactly the right person for that work.
False Claims, Altered Photos and Partisan Smears Target Clemence
You can tell a lot about a candidate by watching them under fire. Over the past two months, Clemence has been subjected to a sustained and false campaign accusing her of being a Chinese spy. The tactics have been as dishonest as the accusation itself — altered photos presented as evidence, and individuals paraded as experts who are nothing more than partisan hacks with an agenda. The basis for the underlying claim? Photographs taken while she was performing her duties in the congressional offices of U.S. Reps. Pete Olson and Troy Nehls.
Among her responsibilities in those roles was representing the congressmen at formal functions — events that sometimes included leaders from China, as is routine in congressional work. That is not something sinister. That is an honorable assignment. It means two sitting members of Congress trusted that she had the skills and temperament to represent the United States of America — and those two congressmen are among a very long list of people who have endorsed her candidacy. The list includes the sitting clerk Laura Richard, a highly respected public servant who will retire when her term concludes.
McFarlane and her allies have taken that record of service and twisted it into a conspiracy theory built on altered images and bad-faith actors. Covering Katy News has examined these claims in depth and found them to be without merit. You can read our full analysis here.
Clemence campaign
JJ Clemence (right) at the Fort Bend Republican Party 2024 Lincoln Reagan Dinner with Ben Carson and her daughter. Carson is a renowned American neurosurgeon, author, and politician, known for his groundbreaking medical and achievements and service as the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 2017 to 2021.
The Human Cost: False Claims Will Follow Clemence and Her Daughter
We want to be clear about the human cost of this campaign. These false accusations are hurtful — to Clemence personally and to her daughter. These claims are now on the internet. They will follow her. The truth is that Republican leaders came to Clemence and asked her to run. They believed McFarlane, if elected, would do lasting damage to the county, the party and the office — that she would become Fort Bend County's version of Lina Hidalgo, unhinged and unpredictable. As she has always done, Clemence answered the call. She took on this challenge for the party and the county, not for personal gain. That is the kind of person she is.
Under Attack, Clemence Has Remained Dignified and Professional
Through all of it, and while her character has been under fire, Clemence has remained dignified and professional — focused, above the fray and centered on what the clerk's office actually does and how she would lead it. That kind of discipline and steadiness matters. It tells you something about how she would run a public office.
Tamara McFarlane's Conduct Has Been Disqualifying
Her opponent, Tamara McFarlane, has shown voters something too — and it is disqualifying.
We have covered McFarlane's conduct extensively, and we encourage readers to review that coverage through this link. The pattern is one of dishonesty, personal attacks and increasingly erratic behavior. When prominent Fort Bend County Republican officeholders and leaders endorsed Clemence — and they have, in numbers that are remarkable for a clerk's race — McFarlane's allies dismissed it as proof of a cover-up. The logic, apparently, is that the people who know Clemence best, who have worked alongside her, who have watched her show up for Republican candidates and causes year after year, are all in on the spy conspiracy.
That is not a serious argument. It is the reasoning of people who have lost the debate on the merits.
McFarlane Has Never Voted in a Republican March Primary
The contrast between these two candidates on basic civic participation alone is striking. Clemence has a documented history of supporting Republican candidates and causes throughout Fort Bend County. McFarlane has never voted in a Republican March primary — the very election she is now asking Republican voters to trust her with.
Fort Bend County Republican Voters: Do Not Stay Home Tuesday
We want to be direct about something else: negative campaigning works. The ugliness of this race has suppressed Republican turnout during early voting. That benefits McFarlane. If you have been sitting this one out because you are tired of the noise, we understand — but not going to the polls is a vote for McFarlane. We believe this is a close race because, unfortunately, dirty, shameful campaigning often works. Do not wake up Wednesday morning and discover that an unstable, dishonest candidate will be Fort Bend County's next clerk because good people stayed home.
Fort Bend County deserves better. We are the most racially diverse county in Texas and one of the most diverse counties in the nation. Our County Clerk's office serves nearly a million residents and must be led by someone who is honest, steady, focused on the work and will treat all people, regardless of race, or religion, with dignity and respect. That person is JJ Clemence. That is clearly not her opponent.
Today is the last day of early voting. Election Day is Tuesday, March 3. We urge Republican primary voters in Fort Bend County to cast their ballot for JJ Clemence for County Clerk.