Around the Capitol / On the Move

Juliet Constancio recently became the Deputy Chief of Staff for Rep. Mihaela Plesa, in addition to serving as Legislative Director.

Rep. John Lujan has announced he plans to run for the newly redrawn CD 35, currently held by U.S. Rep. Greg Casar.

Fmr. Speaker Dade Phelan recently announced he will not seek re-elecction.

Rep. Briscoe Cain has filed to run for Congress in the newly redrawn CD 9, currently represented by U.S. Rep. Al Green.

Rep. Stan Lambert has announced he will not seek re-election.

Fmr. aide to AG Ken Paxton, U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, recently announced his campaign for Texas Attorney General.

Grant McLaughlin has left Sen. Lois Kolkhorst's office where he was General Counsel and Legislative Director, and is now the Director of Intergovernmental Relations at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Jacob DeSelms, formerly with the Legislative Council, will replace him in Sen. Kolkhorst's office.

Jordan Parr is the new Senior Budget and Policy for the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. Previously, Parr was a budget analyst at the Legislative Budget Board.

Rep. Alma Allen recently announced she will not run for re-election.

The Texas Tech Board of Regents is expected to name Sen. Brandon Creighton as the next Chancellor of the System.

Correction: Sen. Nathan Johnson is not up for re-election in 2026 so he does not have to give up his Senate seat to run for AG.

Texas Politics Today is produced and sponsored by Arnold Public Affairs, an Austin-based public affairs and lobby firm working with corporate and non-profit organizations. Jim Arnold, Ellen Arnold and Rea Motiwala

Be sure to send us news of departures, promotions, births, marriages and other milestones, so we can share it with the Capitol community!

Information can be sent to jim@arnoldpublicaffairs.com or text at 512-431-5385

Lobby/Association/Other

Joe Pojman will retire as the ED of the Texas Alliance for Life after almost four decades. Amy O'Donnell will take over as the interim Executive Director .

Mark Seale is now the Senior Vice President of Advocacy at Cornerstone League. He most recently was ED of the Texas Telephone Association.

Albert Cheng is now the Manager of Government and Regulatory Affairs at Houston Methodist. Previously, he was a Principal at Arete Public Affairs.

Marti Johnson Luparello recently announced the formation of her new firm, Ocotillo Public Affairs. She was with Imperium Public Affairs, previously.

Suzy Whittenton recently became a business consultant at CGI, an IT consulting firm. Previously she was the Chief Financial Officer at DPS.

Adrienne Dans is the new Executive and Legislative Affairs Coordinator at the Brannan Firm. Previously, she served as a Legislative Aide for Rep. Stan Gerdes.

Mary Elen Williams recently became the Director of Government Affairs at the Independent Bankers Association of Texas. Previously, she was the Director of External Affairs at the Texas Office of Public Utility Counsel.

Sheryl Pace recently announced her retirement from the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association, where she was a Senior School Finance Analyst.

Former Texas Land Commissioner, George P. Bush, recently launched a new firm, Pine Cove Strategies.

State Agencies

Elizabeth Farley was recently promoted to Chief of Staff at DFPS. Previously, she was the Executive Advisor.

Audrey O' Neill recently became the Acting Commissioner for DFPS, where she has served as the Deputy Commissioner for Programs.

Megan Wilkinson has taken a new position as a Market Rules Analyst at New Braunfels Utilities. Previously, she was a Government Relations Specialist at DFPS.

Bryan Daniel recently stepped down as the Chairman of the Texas Workforce Commission to become the President of NYSE Texas.

Bobby Lumpkin is the new Chief Operations Officer for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

Birthdays

Note: If you'd like your birthday listed and we aren't friends on FB, email me and I'll make sure it's included.

September

1- Sen. Roland Gutierrez, Tom Grady, Tom Holloway, Lola Lake

2- Chris Willuhn, Allen Vaught

3- Deidra Campos Garcia

4 - Luis Moreno, Nate Walker, Libby Orr, Dwayne Bohac, Fmr. Rep.Justin Rodriguez

5- Jillian Waggoner

6 - Former Sen. Sylvia Garcia, Sid Miller,Gary Bledsoe

7- Rep. John Smithee

8- Fmr. Rep. Garnet Coleman, Suzanne Sanders, Michael Blair, Tiffany Blaschke Britton, Cynthia Pollito Valadez-Mata Jr.

9- Sen. Donna Campbell, Clay McPhail, Ilisa Nolan

10- Ryan Poppe, Billie Hopson, Fmr. Rep. Mark Strama, Mandeep Chatha Homer

11- Erin Hornaday, Casey Magnuson, Scott Crownover, Lauren Young, Jon Oliver, Matt Wolff, Ciara Hall

12- Billy Millwee, Fmr. Sen. Carlos Uresti, Lara Laneri Keel, Rep. Nicole Collier, Adam Loewy

13- Elizabeth Ross Hadley, Rep. Claudia Ordaz, Matt Mackowiak, Alexander Storey McMillan, Regan Ellmer, Jeff Miller, Terri Pressley, Barry Thomas

14- Don Comedy, Rep. Brad Buckley, Fmr. Rep. Jacey Jetton, Mary Dale

15- Chris Sanchez, Todd Olsen, Catarina Gonzales, Jim Powers

16- Russell Farabee, Camille Miller, Lawrence Olsen

17- Linda Eissler, Kristi Fogle, Omar Garcia

18- Rep. Ron Reynolds, Fmr. Rep. Chuck Hopson, Sen. Mayes Middleton, Fmr. Speaker Dade Phelan, Fmr. Sen. Beverly Powell, Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, Kate Murphy, Kristen Hogan

19- Oscar Aguilar, Frm. Speaker Tom Craddick

20- Lauren Wied Fairbanks, Steve Ray, Becca Engle, Kathy Lea

21- Dennis Speight, Nancy Fisher, Fmr. Rep. Ron Simmons, Alexa Ura, Cari Christman, Karin Crump

22- Jim Dow, Shannon Ghangurde, Rep. Valoree Swanson, Rep. Erin Zwiener, Blake Thomas Roach

23- Fmr. GLO Comm. Jerry Patterson, Lauren Cacheaux

24- Will Newton, Travis McCormick, Hunter Bryan Thompson, Amanda Thomas List

25- Rep. Gary VanDeaver, Jason Smith, Lisa Lucero, Fmr. Rep. Debra Danburg, Taylor Dewitt

26- Stacy Toomey, RR Comm Wayne Christian, Rep. Rafael Anchia, Sen. Royce West, Sandy Hoy

27- Jacob Cottingham, Rep. Jarvis Johnson, Rep. Lulu Flores, Adrianne Emr Evans, Chuck Bailey, Madison Yandell

28- Josh Houston, Joe Dyer, Liz Fazio Hale, Kathy Green

29- Fmr. Rep. Terral Smith, Rudy England, Angelica Flores Granado, Addison Elise Reagan, Rudy England, Joe Driver

30- Gerardo Interiano, Michael Kelley, Glenn Smith, Georgeanne Palmer

Shout Outs

Congratulations to Taylor Borer on the recent birth of her son, Rowe Walter Borer!

Congratulations to Michelle Watts on her recent engagement.

Congratulations to former Rep. Rob Eissler on the naming of an elementary school in his honor in Conroe ISD.

Our Thoughts



Our thoughts are with the families, friends and colleagues of the following people who have passed recently.

• Fmr.. Rep. Jodie Laudenberg
• Dave McNeely
• Jim Reaves
• Sandy Anderson, mother of former Rep. Rodney Anderson
• Mike Reynolds, brother of Robyn Hadley

For inquiries regarding sponsorship opportunities for this newsletter, please reach out to Jim Arnold at jim@arnoldpublicaffairs.com.