Source reporting: Dallas Express
A former member of the McKinney Housing Finance Corporation has intensified a dispute over alleged intimidation surrounding a municipal recall petition, according to Dallas Express.
The publisher reports that Paul Shirar posted a social-media comment insulting people who signed the petition and stating that they should be afraid. City records listed Shirar as a board member whose term expired in 2025, while a March 2026 roster did not list him as a current member. Dallas Express said Shirar did not respond before publication.
The remarks followed comments by former McKinney Mayor George Fuller, who warned that petition signers’ names and addresses could become public after filing and said businesses and prospective employers were observing the controversy. Fuller told Dallas Express that he opposes threats, harassment, intimidation and professional retaliation. He said public criticism and disagreement remain legitimate parts of political participation.
Recall organizers contend that the comments have discouraged some residents from signing. Materials they provided to Dallas Express included screenshots, committee-prepared summaries and accounts from petition circulators. One volunteer returned an unused petition sheet after reporting that three acquaintances feared doxxing or threats. Two signers asked to withdraw because of privacy or security concerns, but neither alleged a direct threat.
The source article also described a voicemail warning a business that opponents would publicize its role in allowing petition activity. The caller threatened adverse publicity rather than physical harm. An anonymous flyer encouraged people to withdraw their signatures, but Dallas Express could not authenticate the image or identify its author.
The available evidence has important limits. The recall committee’s own summary did not establish coordination, actual job loss, retaliation, a complete count of affected residents, a crime or another legal violation. Most accounts were secondhand, and no comprehensive survey of petition signers was available.
The recall effort targets Mayor Bill Cox and council members Ernest Lynch, Geré Feltus and Justin Beller. Organizers must collect 5,805 valid signatures by 5 p.m. September 26. Their formal stated ground is a loss of public confidence in the four officials’ ability to represent residents.
The dispute has a direct public-integrity and constitutional-rights significance. Public records laws can expose participation in a petition drive, while speech criticizing a recall is also protected. Officials, former appointees and campaign participants should distinguish lawful criticism from conduct intended to deter civic participation through threats or retaliation. Based on the evidence reported so far, intimidation is alleged, but no criminal violation or coordinated campaign has been established.