A former McKinney Housing Finance Corporation board member said residents signing a petition to recall four McKinney elected officials “should absolutely be afraid,” escalating an ongoing dispute over alleged intimidation surrounding the petition drive.
“Any dumbass willing to sign this petition is openly admitting publicly how little they know about their own government. It is literally a petition signed ONLY by morons and bigots. These buffoons deserve to be ridiculed and should absolutely be afraid,” Paul Shirar wrote in a social media comment.
Recall dispute escalates
Shirar’s remarks follow an earlier controversy involving former McKinney Mayor George Fuller, an outspoken opponent of the recall effort.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Fuller warned residents that the names and addresses of petition signers could become public records once organizers file the completed petitions.
“Exercise your rights. Sign the petition if you believe in it,” Fuller wrote. “But own it.”
Fuller also told residents to “be prepared to stand publicly behind your decision and be accountable for the consequences it has for this community.”
He further argued that businesses and prospective employers were paying attention to the recall controversy.
“Our businesses are watching. Our prospective employers are watching. The country is watching,” Fuller wrote.
The McKinney Recall Committee responded that public access to petition records was “not a license for political intimidation.”
John Aselton, the petitioners’ committee notice designee, told The Dallas Express that Shirar’s statement adds to concerns about intimidation surrounding the petition drive.
“George Fuller informed McKinney signers their names and addresses would be public, told them to be accountable for the consequences, and said employers are watching. Now we have a McKinney City Council-appointed Housing Finance Corporation officer and board member who has followed that up by telling petition signers they ‘should absolutely be afraid.’ Intimidation is happening and it’s anathema to the American civic process. Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton must enforce McKinney voters’ right to sign. Do it now,” Aselton said.
City records list Shirar as a board member with a term expiring in 2025. A March 2026 board roster does not list him as a member.
Records show fear and withdrawals
Materials provided by the McKinney Recall Committee to The Dallas Express include screenshots, committee-prepared transcripts and summaries describing residents’ reluctance to sign. Most accounts are secondhand statements from petition circulators rather than interviews with the residents involved.
A screenshot of an Aug. 23 message shows a volunteer returning an unused petition sheet after saying three people close to her would not sign because of what she described as “the doxxing of and threats to signers.” The message does not identify Fuller, Shirar or another source of the alleged threats.
Voicemail warns a business
An Aug. 21 voicemail supplied by the committee records a caller warning a business about petition signing at the property. After asking whether the business allowed the event, the caller said, “I’ll get word out everywhere about your business and so will others because we’re tired of this.” The caller threatened adverse publicity, not physical harm.
Two committee-prepared email excerpts say a husband and wife asked to withdraw their Aug. 19 signatures because they had not realized the petition would become a public record. Both said they continued to support the recall and cited privacy or security concerns. Neither alleged that anyone threatened or intimidated them.
According to a committee-prepared transcript of an Aug. 26 call, petition circulator Lety Garcia told Aselton that seven or more people had cited Fuller’s comments and did not want to “get in trouble.” Garcia said those residents were a minority of her contacts and that most people she approached signed.
Anonymous flyer urges withdrawals
An image shared in an Aug. 29 Facebook post appears to show an anonymous pink flyer affixed to a tree. The flyer text says signers had been “tricked” into supporting a “racially motivated recall” and urges them to call the city secretary to remove their names before the public record is released.
Some online commenters have claimed the image was AI-generated. The Dallas Express could not authenticate the image or determine whether the flyer was physically posted before publication. The materials provided to The Dallas Express did not include an original photograph with usable camera metadata.
Texas law allows a signer to withdraw only before the petition is filed, either by deleting the signature from the petition or filing an affidavit with the receiving authority. A phone call alone would not withdraw a signature. The image does not identify a verifiable author, and the materials do not link it to Fuller or Shirar.
The committee’s own summary says the materials do not establish coordination, actual job loss or retaliation, a complete count of affected residents, or a crime or legal violation. It also says no comprehensive first-person survey of petition signers exists.
How the recall began
The dispute comes as organizers work to collect thousands of signatures needed for the petition to advance.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, five McKinney voters launched the recall effort against Mayor Bill Cox, At Large 1 Council Member Ernest Lynch, District 3 Council Member Geré Feltus and District 1 Council Member Justin Beller.
The voters executed the initiating affidavit Aug. 11, and the city secretary stamped it received Aug. 12.
The petitioners cited one formal ground for seeking the officials’ removal: “A loss of public confidence in the ability of the officers named herein to faithfully represent the citizens of the City of McKinney.”
Broader concerns cited
The affidavit cites neither the mosque nor any specific council vote. Organizers say the recall is not based on a single council decision.
A prior DX report documented broader concerns involving airport expansion, growth, spending and City Hall responsiveness. The Dallas Express established no connection between the realtor featured in that coverage and the recall campaign.
“This recall campaign is about restoring accountability and public trust in McKinney’s city government,” Aselton previously told The Dallas Express. “Residents have repeatedly raised concerns about spending, transparency, growth, infrastructure, and whether City Hall is listening to the people it serves.”
Fuller cites election consequences
Fuller told The Dallas Express that he opposes threats and retaliation against petition signers but considers public criticism fair.
“No. I do not believe anyone should be threatened, harassed, intimidated, or subjected to professional retaliation for signing a petition. At the same time, participation in the political process does not mean freedom from criticism or public disagreement. Just as petition organizers and signers have every right to advocate for recalling elected officials, others have every right to publicly disagree with them and question the basis for that effort,” Fuller said.
Election cost estimates
In a follow-up statement, Fuller estimated that a recall election would cost McKinney taxpayers $250,000 to $300,000. He said successful recalls would require a separate election to fill the vacancies at the same estimated cost.
DX could not independently verify Fuller’s figures. In February 2024, a city agenda item estimated a proposed May 4 special charter election at $90,000, including the county contract, translations, a voter guide, advertising and legal notices. The council tabled the ordinance, and the election did not occur.
McKinney later held its Nov. 5, 2024, special charter election under a joint agreement that shared costs. A separate item estimated a Jan. 15, 2022, standalone special council election at about $187,000. Neither estimate verifies Fuller’s figures.
Council quorum and city operations
Fuller also warned that recalling enough officials to eliminate a quorum could leave the council unable to approve matters requiring council action for as long as seven months.
McKinney’s city charter requires four of seven council members for a quorum. Recalling all four targets would leave three, preventing ordinances, budgets and other council-required action until enough replacements qualified.
The city itself would not shut down. McKinney’s city manager already serves as chief executive and would continue administering services, enforcing existing laws and ordinances, supervising departments and operating under the approved budget and other authority.
The Texas Constitution says municipal governing-body vacancies must be filled by majority vote at a special election called within 120 days when the offices carry terms longer than two years and more than 12 months remain.
State runoff law generally places any necessary runoff 30 to 45 days after the main election. Those provisions do not, on their face, support Fuller’s seven-month estimate after the vacancies occur.
“So beyond the political rhetoric surrounding this recall, there are very real financial and operational consequences for McKinney residents that I believe deserve to be part of the discussion,” Fuller said.
Organizers must collect 5,805 signatures from qualified McKinney voters by 5 p.m. Sept. 26 for the petition to advance toward a recall election.
The increasingly contentious campaign has already generated allegations of interference with signature gathering. Recall organizers previously told The Dallas Express that opponents had attempted to disrupt petition sites. Fuller denied directing, authorizing or encouraging anyone to interfere with the petition drive.
The Dallas Express reached out to Shirar for comment regarding his remarks and the allegations of intimidation but did not receive a response before publication.
Previous DX coverage
- Recall launch: ‘Loss of Public Confidence’: McKinney Voters Move to Recall Mayor, Three Council Members
- Fuller warning: ‘Not a License for Political Intimidation’: McKinney Recall Fires Back After Former Mayor’s Post
- Interference claims: McKinney Recall Organizers Allege Interference as Petition Fight Intensifies
- City Hall: McKinney Recall Opponents Pack City Hall as Political Fight Intensifies
- Broader concerns: Realtor Video Undercuts Claim McKinney Recall Is Only About Mosque
- DOJ complaint: McKinney Recall Escalates: PAC Files DOJ Complaint Over Alleged Voter Intimidation
- Recall scope: McKinney Recall Widens Beyond Mosque Vote
Provided by Dallas Express
