Texas Governor-Elect Hinojosa Names Republican to Transition Team, Pledges Bipartisan Administration

Texas Democratic Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa named a former Republican state lawmaker to help lead her transition team and pledged to run a bipartisan administration when she takes office in January.

“We will have a bipartisan transition, and we will have a bipartisan administration and government in Texas,” Hinojosa said at her first press conference since defeating Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on Nov. 3.

Hinojosa, a state representative from Austin, will be the first Democrat to serve as Texas governor since Ann Richards left office in 1995.

Asked why she would build a bipartisan team after voters gave Democrats broad wins, Hinojosa called Bailes one of her best allies on public schools. She said there is “really little light” between their positions on public education.

“This is not about being a Democratic administration,” she said. “I’m not going to be the governor for just Democrats. I’m going to be the governor for all the people of Texas.”

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Ryan Pollock, executive director of the Texas State Building and Construction Trades Council, will serve as the other co-chair.

Joseph Carlos Madden, who has spent the past eight years guiding Harris County officials through their transitions, will serve as executive director.

Tamala Barksdale, a former Austin school board trustee who served alongside Hinojosa, will be a senior adviser.

Hinojosa said Abbott has been “gracious” and has told her his administration will fully cooperate with the transition. She said she has spoken with him once since election night and that their teams have been in contact.

Asked whether Republicans in the Capitol might try to undercut her transition, Hinojosa said Texas voters made their opinions clear.

“The people of Texas have spoken, and I think it’s important that as elected leaders, we respect what the people of Texas have said,” she said.

“They want change, and I would hope that elected leaders from both parties don’t get in the way of the progress we can make together to deliver for working people. That is our obligation as leaders in this state, and I look forward to working with Republican leaders in the legislature.”

According to her campaign, the team will spend the coming weeks turning her campaign priorities into a governing agenda. Those priorities include lowering costs for families, strengthening public schools, and what the campaign calls “back-to-basics governance.” She plans more announcements about the transition in the coming weeks.

The Epoch Times reached out to Abbott’s office and the Republican Party of Texas for comment but did not hear back before publication.

The transition follows Democrats taking control of the Texas House on Nov. 3. It will be the first time Democrats control the chamber since Republicans won it in the 2002 election. Republicans kept control of the state Senate.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.