J.J. Clemence

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

J.J. Clemence

Republican Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

March 3, 2026

Education

Bachelor's

Baker University

Graduate

Baker University

Personal

Profession

Financial Analyst

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Personal website

J.J. Clemence (Republican Party) ran for election for Fort Bend County Clerk in Texas. Clemence lost in the Republican primary on March 3, 2026.

Biography

Email editor@ballotpedia.org to notify us of updates to this biography.

Clemence was born in Benhu, China. She is a financial analyst, reporting account manager, and business development manager at Spectra Energy. She is also a certified auditor. She received a bachelor's degree in accounting and a master's degree in business administration from Baker University in Kansas.

Clemence also served as community outreach director for U.S. Congressman Pete Olson (R), as vice chair on the Texas Real Estate Research and Advisory Committee during the Abbott administration, and as finance chair for the Fort Bend County Republican Party.

As of 2015, Clemence had one daughter who attended school in the Fort Bend Independent School District.

Elections

2026

See also: Municipal elections in Fort Bend County, Texas (2026)

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

General election for Fort Bend County Clerk

Sonya Jones (D) and Tamara McFarlane (R) are running in the general election for Fort Bend County Clerk on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Sonya Jones (D)
		Tamara McFarlane (R)

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	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

Democratic primary for Fort Bend County Clerk

Sonya Jones (D) defeated Maria T. Jackson (D), Shah Haleem (D), and Montreal Peterson (D) in the Democratic primary for Fort Bend County Clerk on March 3, 2026.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Sonya Jones	37.5	26,676
		Maria T. Jackson	22.9	16,316
		Shah Haleem	20.8	14,833
		Montreal Peterson	18.8	13,368

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 71,193
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

Republican primary for Fort Bend County Clerk

Tamara McFarlane (R) defeated J.J. Clemence (R) in the Republican primary for Fort Bend County Clerk on March 3, 2026.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tamara McFarlane	52.7	23,300
		J.J. Clemence	47.3	20,893

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 44,193
= 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

Clemence received the following endorsements. To send us additional endorsements, click here.

• True Texas Project

2020

See also: Municipal elections in Fort Bend County, Texas (2020)

General election

General election for Fort Bend County Tax Assessor-Collector

Carmen Turner defeated James Pressler in the general election for Fort Bend County Tax Assessor-Collector on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Carmen Turner (D)	51.9	175,610
		James Pressler (R)	48.1	162,503

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 338,113
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for Fort Bend County Tax Assessor-Collector

James Pressler defeated J.J. Clemence in the Republican primary runoff for Fort Bend County Tax Assessor-Collector on July 14, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		James Pressler	58.7	22,759
		J.J. Clemence	41.3	15,987

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 38,746
= 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.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Fort Bend County Tax Assessor-Collector

Carmen Turner defeated Neeta Sane in the Democratic primary for Fort Bend County Tax Assessor-Collector on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Carmen Turner	52.5	30,776
	Submit photo	Neeta Sane	47.5	27,820

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 58,596
= 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 Fort Bend County Tax Assessor-Collector

James Pressler and J.J. Clemence advanced to a runoff. They defeated Phillip Andrews and Jaison Joseph in the Republican primary for Fort Bend County Tax Assessor-Collector on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		James Pressler	46.0	22,713
✔		J.J. Clemence	24.6	12,145
		Phillip Andrews	22.4	11,066
		Jaison Joseph	6.9	3,430

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 49,354
= 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.

2015

See also: Fort Bend Independent School District elections (2015)

The general election on May 9, 2015, in the Fort Bend Independent School District featured two seats up for election. In the Position 2 race, incumbent Grayle James defeated challenger Kathy Li. Position 6 incumbent Jenny Bailey lost to Addie Heyliger; JJ Clemence and Stuart Jackson also competed in that race.

Results

Fort Bend Independent School District, Position 6 General Election, 3-year term, 2015
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Addie Heyliger	33.3%	2,477
	Nonpartisan	Jenny Bailey Incumbent	29.1%	2,168
	Nonpartisan	Stuart Jackson	24.4%	1,817
	Nonpartisan	JJ Clemence	13.2%	984
Total Votes				7,446
Source: Fort Bend County, Texas, "Official Results," accessed June 1, 2015

Funding

Clemence reported $14,639 in contributions and $8,479.60 in expenditures to the Texas Ethics Commission, which left her campaign with $6,159.40 on hand as of April 9, 2015.

Texas school board candidates and officeholders must file semiannual reports, which were due on January 15, 2015, and July 15, 2015. In addition, candidates in contested elections were required to file 30-day and 8-day pre-election reports, unless the candidate chose modified reporting.

Candidates in contested elections who did not intend to exceed $500 in contributions or expenditures, excepting filing fees, were eligible for modified reporting. If they exceeded the threshold before the 30th day prior to the election, candidates were required to submit the 30- and 8-day reports. If they exceeded the threshold after the 30th day prior to the election, they were required to file a report within 48 hours of exceeding the threshold and participate in regular reporting for the rest of the election cycle.

Endorsements

Clemence received no official endorsements as of April 28, 2015.

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

J.J. Clemence did not complete Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign website

Clemence's campaign website stated the following:

Strengthen Chain-of-Custody for All Official Records

Ensure every deed, plat, marriage license, and court file is securely tracked, protected, and properly archived through enhanced digital controls so your records are safe and accessible when you need them.

Bring Clerk Services Closer to the Community

Expand outreach stations, mobile services, workshops, and improved online tools so families, seniors, businesses, schools, and new residents can easily access county services without long drives, long lines, or confusion.

Fiscal Responsibility & Strong Internal Controls

Apply proven audit and internal-control methods to reduce waste, improve accuracy, enhance security, and protect taxpayer dollars.

Modernize the Clerk’s Office with Improved IT & AI Technology

I will bring upgraded IT systems, modern workflow tools, and responsible AI integration to streamline services, reduce errors, enhance document search capabilities, digitize archives, and give residents faster, easier access to the records they need.

Continue the Office’s Strong Legacy of Professionalism & Customer Service

Build upon the excellent work of the current County Clerk’s Office by maintaining high service standards, expanding customer-friendly processes, and ensuring every resident receives timely, respectful, and efficient support.

— J.J. Clemence's campaign website (February 6, 2026)

Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.

2020

J.J. Clemence did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2015

Ballotpedia survey responses

Clemence participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates. The following sections display her responses to the survey questions. When asked what her top priority would be if elected, the candidate made the following statement:

“	Student achievement.	”
—JJ Clemence (2015)

Ranking the issues

The candidate was asked to rank the following issues by importance in the school district, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. This table displays this candidate's rankings from most to least important:

Education policy
Click here to learn more about education policy in Texas.
Education on the ballot

Issue importance ranking
Candidate's ranking	Issue
1	Balancing or maintaining the district's budget
2	Expanding school choice options
3	Expanding career-technical education
4	Expanding arts education
5	Improving education for special needs students
6	Improving college readiness
7	Closing the achievement gap

Positions on the issues

The candidate was asked to answer 10 questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. The questions are in the left column and the candidate's responses are in the right column of the following table:

Question	Response
What is your stance on implementing Common Core standards?	"They should not be implemented."
Should your district approve the creation of new charter schools?	"Yes."
Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system?	"No."
Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement?	"No."
How can the district ensure equal opportunities for high and low achieving students?	"We need to provide equal support for all students across the district."
How should expulsion be used in the district?	"Expulsion cases must be viewed on a case-by-case basis rather than the district having an overarching policy."
If a school is failing in your district, what steps should the school board take to help the students in that school?	"The school principal is the key to school success. If a school is failing we need to review the school staff to make sure we have proper people in place."
Do you support merit pay for teachers?	"Yes."
How should the district handle underperforming teachers?	"Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district."
How would you work to improve community-school board relations?	"The school board should have its own community engagement plan. And it should be reviewed annually to ensure it achieves its goal."

Campaign website

Clemence provided the following list of reasons why she ran for the school board on her campaign website:

“	Fiscal Responsibility – As a certified financial auditor with over 10 years of financial , operational and fraud audit experience, I will make sure that all tax payer dollars are used in the most effective and efficient manner. I plan to ensure that each penny is accounted for and to ensure that every dollar spent will benefit Fort Bend ISD children. A school board member’s primary responsibility is to adopt and oversee the district annual budget as well as monitor and adjust district finances. I would like to use my professional auditing background to help the district to achieve such goal. Academics – I will provide sufficient resources to attract and retain high quality teachers, ensure that our students are prepared for global competition by promoting foreign language education, and reduce overcrowding by planning for long term stability. Community Involvement – I will ensure that ALL parents, teachers, and students have a voice and that their voice is being heard. A school board’s purpose is to provide local citizens with supervision and control over education. Trust – Reliability, integrity, and strength. You can depend on me to listen and to make decisions that will benefit all of FBISD students. I want to restore community trust to FBISD Board of Trustees. As a concerned citizen and parent, I know that the citizen’s trust is critical to the success of our community and a function of the Board of Trustees. Trust is earned and I will work tirelessly to earn your trust.	”
—JJ Clemence's campaign website (2015)

See also

2026 Elections

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