AUSTIN, Texas — Lt. Gov.-elect Vikki Goodwin, an Austin Democrat, named a 14-member transition team Tuesday that pairs Democrats with former Republican officials as she prepares to begin her term in January following her upset of Dan Patrick.
Angela Hale, a longtime political operative, will serve as executive director. The co-chairs are Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, a former state senator; San Antonio’s Leticia Van de Putte, a onetime senator who ran for lieutenant governor on the Democratic ticket in 2014; and Chris Turner, a Grand Prairie Democrat who is leaving the Texas House.
The Republican names stand out. Former Sen. Kel Seliger, who retired from the chamber in 2023 following nearly 20 years and often clashed with Patrick, is on the team, as is Tommy Williams, a former senator from the Houston area who also led Texas A&M University on an interim basis until May. Tom Phillips, the retired chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court and a lifelong Republican, also joined, along with Judd Messer, who previously ran Trent Ashby’s office, and Denise Davis and Jesse Ancira Jr., who worked as chiefs of staff for former House Speaker Joe Straus.
The picks come with a political backdrop. Democrats had not held the lieutenant governor’s job since 1999, but the GOP still holds 19 of the 31 Senate seats, and most of the lieutenant governor’s power comes from Senate rules. Patrick said a day earlier that Republican senators should write rules giving themselves the strongest hand. Asked about that Tuesday, Goodwin did not directly say whether she expects rules changes, and said senators should put their districts ahead of partisan concerns. She added that her eight years in the Republican-run House taught her how to find common ground with the other side.
At least eight of the 14 people named are registered lobbyists, including Hale, Van de Putte and Williams. Lobbyists are free to sit on such panels, though it can raise questions about client influence. Patrick said Monday he is starting a consulting firm called Patrick Strategies and does not plan to lobby.
Goodwin is leaning on a playbook with precedent. When party control last changed in 2002, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst hired Bruce Gibson, a former Democratic House member who had been Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock’s top aide, and Rick Perry kept some Bullock staffers on in 1998. Goodwin, who has served four terms in the Texas House representing Austin, will take office alongside Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa when the Legislature convenes Jan. 12.
Filed under: Austin TX Politics News
