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Around the Capitol / On the Move / Campaign Season
Effective April 30, Sen. Kirk Watson will resign from the Senate to become the first dean of the University of Houston’s Hobby School of Public Affairs.
Ashley Mann, who handled Articles I, IV and V for the House Appropriations Committee, is leaving that position and moving to Italy. In slightly older news, Cameron Cocke, is now handling Article 3, Education, for the House Appropriations Committee.
Gardner Pate has left Speaker Dennis Bonnen’s office to be Deputy Chief of Staff to Governor Greg Abbott, replacing Matt Hirsch, who is leaving Abbott’s office. Pate served as Director of Policy and General Counsel for the Speaker. Hirsch, who served as deputy chief of staff and communications director to Abbott, had been with Abbott for seven years.
Sandy Guzman, longtime Legislative Director to Sen. Kirk Watson, has left the Capitol to become the Executive Director of the Austin Area Research Organization.
Speaker Dennis Bonnen has appointed Rep. Giovanni Capriglione as the new chair of the House Appropriations Committee. Katy Aldredge, Capriglione’s Capitol Director will also serve as the Interim Director of the House Appropriations Committee.
The Texas House Freedom Caucus has elected its new officers for 2020. Rep. Mayes Middleton was elected chair. Rep, Matt Schaefer will serve as vice chair, and Rep. Matt Krause will serve as secretary/treasurer.
Cara Gustafson, Communications and Media Director for Rep. Garnet Coleman, has left the Capitol. She has joined Public Blueprint as its communications specialist. Nicolas Kalla, Coleman’s chief of staff, will be taking over Gustafson’s role in Coleman’s office.
After 15 years in government at the state and federal levels, including Chief of Staff to Sen. Kelly Hancock, Adam Leggett has started his own firm, Leggett Public Affairs.
Stephanie Chiarello is the new chief of staff for Rep. Terry Meza. Chiarello previously worked in the Senate.
Chief of Staff Katy Womble is leaving the office of Rep. Victoria Neave.
Madison Yandell is now an Account Associate with ROSS Communication. Yandell was previously a policy analyst for Governor Greg Abbott.
House Speaker Dennis Bonnen has issued committee assignments for the lower chamber’s three newest members: Reps. Gary Gates Lorraine Birabil and Anna Eastman.
- Gates — Appropriations; Pensions, Investments and Financial Services
- Birabil — Higher Education; Urban Affairs
- Eastman — Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence; Natural Resources
Speaker Dennis Bonnen also selected state Rep. Victoria Neave to serve as vice chair of the Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee, a position previously held by former state Rep. Jessica Farrar.
Steve Brown, former American Heart Association VP and Harris County Metro staffer is the Texas Political Director for the Bernie Sanders Presidential Campaign.
Harris County Commissioners Court has selected Ender Reed to manage legislative, regulatory and global issues for the county as Director of the newly reconstituted Intergovernmental and Global Affairs Department. Aimee Bertrand assumes the role of Deputy Director for the Department after five years with the Harris County legislative team. Tammy Narvaez also joins the Department as Senior Intergovernmental Affairs Specialist. Narvaez previously worked for the US State Department and as a consultant for NGOs working on advancing US foreign policy in Latin America. (h/t The Quorum Report)
Lobby/Association News
MCNA Dental has announced the appointment of Former Governor Rick Perry as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Strategy Officer. Perry served on the MCNA Board prior to becoming the US Secretary of Energy.
Former Rep. Vilma Luna has left HillCo Partners to start her own firm,
Travis Broussard, who most recently served as chief-of-staff to Sen. Jane Nelson, has created his own legislative consulting firm, Travis Broussard Consulting.
Charlie Gagen, Texas Grassroots Director for American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network has left to become the Government Affairs Director for the American Lung Association for Texas and Oklahoma.
Carl Walker has joined the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association as an analyst on property tax issues. Walker replaces Debbie Cartwright, who recently retired. Walker comes from Occidental Petroleum, where he served as ad valorem tax manager.
Chris Sanchez, who served as former Rep. Larry Gonzales’ COS, has joined Salient Strategies as a Senior Partner.
President and CEO of the Texas Assisted Living Association Gail Harmon has retired, and Diana Martinez has been tapped to lead the association. Martinez has been with TALA for five years. Former Senate and HHSC staffer, Carmen Tilton joins the organization as VP of Public Policy.
Drew Scheberle, senior vice president for policy and advocacy at the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, is leaving the organization after 15 years.
The Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Association of Texas has hired Sarah Rayburn as its new executive director. Rayburn will succeed Alicia Dover, who’s retiring at the end of March. Rayburn was previously the Texas Director for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. (h/t The Quorum Report)
Michael J. Wright, former Executive Director of the Texas Pharmacy Business Council is now Vice President of Government Affairs for American Pharmacies, where he will oversee advocacy efforts nationwide. He will also continue his oversight of the Texas Pharmacy Business Council. (h/t The Quorum Report)
Julie Wheeler is the new Travis County Intergovernmental Relations Officer, succeeding Deece Eckstein who retired recently. Wheeler has been an intergovernmental relations specialist for Travis County since 2013.
Husch Blackwell Strategies has added Myra Leo and Ky Ash to the firm’s Texas government practice.
Christina Kaeini, who until recently served as Senior Intergovernmental Relations Coordinator for the City of Austin, has returned to Focused Advocacy as the Client Services Director.
Daniel Gonzalez has started his own firm, Gonzalez Public Affairs & Consulting. Gonzalez was previously the Director of Legislative Affairs at the Texas Association of Realtors.
Taylor Calvin is headed to Houston to join Sysco’s Government Relations Team. She previously worked for Rep. John Frullo as his Legislative Director and Committee Clerk. (h/t The Quorum Report)
Planned Parenthood Texas Votes has named Dyana Limon-Mercado as their new Executive Director. Previously, Limon-Mercado served as the organization’s Deputy Director.
Cody Vaden, previously the Director of Government Affairs at the Arlington Board of Realtors, is now the Director of Campaign Operations for former Arlington mayor Beth Van Duyne’s congressional run.
Kate Goodrich, most recently the General Counsel with the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services, is now a governmental affairs consultant at Jackson Walker.
Jessica Magee is the new Executive Director at the Texas Psychological Association. Magee was previously with the Texas HHS Office of the Inspector General and a House staffer.
Mandy Gunasekara, a senior fellow with the the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Life:Powered project, has joined the Environmental Protection Agency as chief of staff, the agency announced.
State Agency/Commission News
The Public Utility Commission of Texas announced that Rachelle Robles has been promoted to lead the agency’s legal division as director. Robles first joined the commission in 2017. (h/t The Blast)
Zach Flores has joined the Department of State Health Services Government Affairs team. Flores was previously Chief of Staff for Rep. Ron Simmons and most recently with Texas Star Alliance.
Kevin Cooper, currently the assistant chief of Government Relations at the Department of Public Safety, will now serve as chief of the combined Office of Government Relations and Office of Media and Communications. The new department will be called the Office of Media and Government Relations.
The State Commission on Judicial Conduct selected Jacqueline Rashawn Habersham as its new executive director.
Debbie Ratcliffe, longtime spokesperson for the Texas Education Agency, retired at the end of February.
Ray Spivey, longtime Capitol presence and most recently at the Teachers Retirement System, has retired from state service.
Shout Outs
Congratulations to Rep. Donna Howard and her husband Derek on the birth of their sixth grandchild.
Congratulations to Bonnie Bruce who has been appointed as the public member to the National Commission for Certification of Anesthesiologist Assistants.
Congratulations to Curtis Smith on his recent nuptials to Vanessa Fuentes!
Congratulations to Selena Soriano on her recent marriage to Jose Enrique Saldana.
Congratulations to Greg Macksood and his wife Dakota on the recent birth of his daughter, Cardon Rose.
Happy Birthday!
Correction: A few weeks ago, Texas Politics Today listed Rep. Arnando Martinez’s birthday incorrectly. Rep. Martinez’s birthday was January 6th. Everyone wish him a happy belated!
March
1 Amber Pearce, Nora Cox Belcher
3 — Speaker Dennis Bonnen
4 – Amy Bresnen
5 – Fmr. Rep. Clint Hackney, Marie Aycock, Rep. Sergio Munoz, Rep. Jay Dean, Sen. Bob Hall
7 – Rep. Armando Walle, Sen. Chuy Hinojosa, Amanda Hudgens, Carlos Truan, Fritz Reinig, Fmr. Rep. and Ambassador Lyndon Olsen
8 – Ross Ramsey, Tom Kowalski, Rep. Giovanni Capriglione
9 – Dustin Cox, Sen. Charles Perry
11 – Fmr. Sen. Bob Deuell, Jason Stanford, Sen. Jose Menendez
12 — Coby Chase
14 — Jason Modglin, Kevin Cooper, Ellen Williams, Robert Eckels
15 — Stephen Raines, Ashley Morgan, Teresa Spears, Erwin Cain, Rep. Dustin Holland, Rep. Brooks Landgraf
18 — Mark Vane, Sen. Kirk Watson, Sara Tays
19 — Rep. Rick Miller
20 — Peggy Fikac, Amy DeWeese, Fmr. Rep. Jim Jackson
In Our Thoughts
Our thoughts go out for a continued and complete recovery for Miles, son of Jason Embry and his wife Amanda.
Former Texas AFL-CIO President, Emmett Sheppard passed away last month at 77. Our thoughts are with the Sheppard family and friends.
Our condolences go out to the family of Paul Harris, former Senior Liaison Officer for the State Office of Risk Management. Harris passed away last month after his battle with cancer.
Our thoughts go out to Bob Garrett and family on the passing of his father, James Leo Garrett.
At the age of 88, Midland oilman and 1990 gubernatorial candidate Clayton Williams, passed away. Condolences to his family, friends and colleagues.
Condolences to Sabrina Midkiff and family on the passing of her mother, Mary Maxine Foster.
Condolences to Hans Klingler and his family and friends on the passing of his mother, Margo Klingler, last month.
Condolences to Reb Wayne and his family and friends on the recent passing of his mother, Laurel McDonald.
Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Ryan Duran, who recently passed away. Duran worked for former Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos and for former Sen. and current Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis.
Condolences to Bruce Gibson and his family on the recent passing of his stepfather, Fred Willis.
A Personal Remembrance
Norm Newton, the founder of the Associated Republicans of Texas passed away recently. While he never worked in the Capitol, he was responsible for electing many of the Republican members who served over the last 30 years or so. I first met Norm in the early 80s when he had a reception at the Austin Club for my father-in-law who was running for the Texas House from Del Rio. It was the first time I had been around political campaigns and it piqued my interest in politics and a few years later I left the Legislative Budget Board and started a 20 year career working in electoral politics.
Consultants and candidates would meet with Norm either at the Austin Club or in his office in the Vaughn Building on Brazos St. to promote their campaigns and ask for contributions. Norm was always glad to see you, was impeccably dressed and during the course of a 30 minute meeting smoked four or five cigarettes. Then he would stand up to end the meeting and say “tambien (also)” which I aways thought didn’t make any sense, until about five years ago as I’m learning Spanish I realized all those years he was saying, “está bien” with an perfect accent because he was from the Valley.
Norm was a unique individual who contributed significantly to the political history of Texas.
Norm, está todo bien. Rest in Peace.
-Jim Arnold
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