Social media posts fake, Tarrant commissioner candidate says

Tarrant County commissioner candidate Andy Nguyen called out his opponent for “crude and racist statements” on Tuesday, but Alisa Simmons said the social media messages attributed to her are fake. Nguyen, a Republican, and Simmons, a Democrat, are vying for outgoing commissioner Devon Allen’s Precinct 2 seat representing Arlington and Mansfield on the Tarrant County Commissioners Court. Early voting for the Nov. 8 election runs from Oct. 24 to Nov. 4. In a press release emailed to the Star-Telegram, Nguyen shared an image of messages that appear to be from Simmons’ Facebook page when she ran against Tony Tinderholt for a state House seat in 2020. Simmons said she was spoofed and did not make the comments attributed to her. Nguyen told the Star-Telegram that his campaign received the messages last week but did not know the source.

The exchange shared by Nguyen shows Simmons saying that she “didn’t give a damn” about a CPS case and that the woman involved deserved what she got for exposing confidential records. “She is lucky all her daughter got was sexually assaulted in foster care. She could turn up dead,” read the message attributed to Simmons. The message goes on to blame case supporters for ruining her campaign and then mentions Tinderholt. “Contact Tinderholt I bet his white ass won’t help her and her stupid ass daughter. Kids get taken every day.” Simmons, who also serves as Arlington’s NAACP president, told the Star-Telegram that the NAACP got involved in the referenced CPS case after the family came to the organization for help. Simmons said the NAACP doesn’t handle domestic cases and that the organization pointed the family to other resources. Simmons said the family initially understood, but that she started facing harassment from case advocates during her campaign for House District 94. The harassment led to involvement from the UT Arlington and Arlington police departments, as well as the national NAACP, Simmons said.