The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - February 19, 2026

Starting point is 00:00:04 Howdy folks, today is Thursday, February 19th, and you're listening to The Texans Daily Rundown. I'm the Texans managing editor Rob Lauchess, and here is the rundown of today's news in Texas politics. First up, after text messages obtained by news media appeared to corroborate prior reports alleging that U.S. Representative Tony Gonzalez, engaged in a relationship with his now deceased regional director, which would violate U.S. House rules, her husband has now come forward in a tell-all interview affirming the claims. Gonzalez, however, continues to deny the allegations and now says he is being blackmailed following a settlement request from the husband's attorney. The staffer, Regina Ann Santos-Avilles, died months after her husband discovered the affair

Starting point is 00:00:53 and confronted Gonzalez in what authorities ruled a suicide by self-immolation. The story has set off a bombshell of controversy, with the most recent evidence being released at the beginning of early voting for the March primary election, where Gonzalez faces three challengers in the GOP primary. Santos Avila's served as Gonzalez's regional director based in Yuvalde, overseeing constituent affairs across 11 of the congressional district's 23 counties near Texas southern border. Emergency responders found her in the backyard of her home on the night of September 13th, 2025, A gasoline can was nearby where she laid severely burned. She was taken to the hospital where she was pronounced dead the next day.

Starting point is 00:01:36 Next, Texas House District 94 is an open seat in the March 3rd primary, as State Representative Tony Tinderholt announced he would not seek re-election and will instead run for Tarrant County Commissioner Precinct 2. Tinderholt said in a November 12th social media post, quote, It was an honor of a lifetime to serve you in the state house in Austin, but my wife and kids are ecstatic that I get to serve the community more locally from here on out. HD 94 covers parts of Tarrant County, including Arlington, Dalwurthington Gardens, Pantago,

Starting point is 00:02:10 Hearst, Ullis, Bedford, and Part of Fort Worth. The district is rated R-57% according to the Texans Texas Partisan Index. The Republican primary has five candidates. Cheryl Bean, Michael Donbaugh, Mike Ingram, Jackie Schlegel, and Susan valiant. Katie O'Brien-Duson is running unopposed in the Democratic primary. In other news, perhaps the ice is thawing in the Dallas area Rapid Transport Network as cities that previously indicated a desire to leave are now reconsidering their stance. Plano, Irving, Highland Park, University Park, Farmers Branch, and Addison have called elections for May 2nd to determine

Starting point is 00:02:52 whether the cities will remain members of Dart. Starting in 2024, these cities expressed concerns that they were contributing more to the DART system than they were receiving in services. However, on February 9th, Plano deferred its decision about an alternative transit option through rideshare while the cities and DART work on a possible solution to their differences. Plano City manager Mark Israelson said, quote, The city has been in active discussions with our transit provider DART for the last six or seven months. And really, over the last several weeks, talks have become more focused around a potential offer that we have heard from the chair of the Dart Board. On February 10th, the Dart Board voted

Starting point is 00:03:33 14 to 1 to approve a resolution that would change the governance and funding of the Dart member cities. Board member Enrique McGregor, who represents Cockrell Hill and Dallas on the board, oppose the resolution. Last but not least, multiple Texas public school districts have approved or are considering closing schools at the end of the current school year, citing declining enrollment, budget deficits, and aging facilities as driving factors. These announcements add to the growing list of statewide school closures, including seven charter schools. These closures reflect the evolving landscape of Texas public education, including the launch of the state's education savings account program, Texas Education Freedom Accounts, which currently has more than

Starting point is 00:04:18 115,000 applicants. Many districts have opened enrollment to out-of-district students and expanded career and technical education pathways. Thanks for listening. To support the Texan, please be sure to visit the Texan. News and subscribe to get full access to all of our articles,

Starting point is 00:04:36 newsletters, and podcasts.

The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - February 19, 2026

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.