Vol 31, Issue 43 Print Issue

The Week in the Rearview Mirror

San Antonio state Rep. Mike Villarreal said on Sunday that he would not serve his new term in the Legislature in order to run full time for mayor of his hometown. The announcement set off a flurry of activity among Alamo City politicos. State Sen. Leticia Van de Putte said that she was considering a run for mayor, and state Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer said he would be interested in running for Van de Putte's Senate seat should she run for a different office.

The full 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined to rehear a challenge to the state's top 10 percent admissions law, preserving for now a previous ruling siding with the University of Texas. The next step could be the U.S. Supreme Court.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, was selected majority whip for the next Congress. He would be the first Texan to fill that leadership role since Lyndon B. Johnson in the early 1950s.

Scott Turner, the freshman state representative challenging incumbent House Speaker Joe Straus, said this week that he would insist on a vote the first day of the new Legislature.

A new website aimed at giving low-income Texans information on health services available to them was announced on Wednesday. Funding for the site was raised at a charity event during Texas-OU weekend in 2013.

Disclosure: The University of Texas at Austin is a corporate sponsor of The Texas Tribune. A complete list of Texas Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed here.

Political People and their Moves

Jaime R. Garza of San Antonio and Rossanna Salazar of Austin were named chairman and vice chairwoman of the Texas State University System Board of Regents. Garza is a professor of surgery, otolaryngology and assistant dean for South Texas Affairs at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Salazar is founder and managing partner of ROSS Communications Inc., an Austin-based public affairs and strategic communications firm.

Norman R. Garza, Jr. has been named assistant vice chancellor for government relations with Texas A&M Engineering. For the last six years, he was associate legislative director with the Texas Farm Bureau.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has made a couple of additions to his D.C. press office, hiring Phil Novack, formerly of Salesforce in San Francisco, as deputy press secretary and Jack Minor, formerly of Heritage Action for America, as deputy digital director.

Margo Cardwell of Austin has been hired by Trey J. Blocker, PLLC. She most recently was chief policy analyst for Greg Abbott's gubernatorial campaign.

Rich Parsons has hired on with the Railroad Commission as the agency's communications director. He comes from the governor's office, where he was deputy communications director since March 2013. He has also worked for the lieutenant governor and secretary of state.

Disclosure: The Texas State University System and the Texas Farm Bureau are corporate sponsors of The Texas Tribune. A complete list of Texas Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed here.