Hinojosa speaks about her plans for government transition

It is an honor to be before you today. Now the fun part starts. We have for months been meeting with experts, planning, and making sure that we were prepared to govern. And here we are announcing our first leads for the transition team. Please understand, this is a transition for the whole state of Texas. And as such, we will have many opportunities for people to weigh in with their ideas. Send in resumes, making sure also that there will be waves of announcing who will lead up this transition for Texas. Today, we start with the people with me here, leaders who I've had the real pleasure and honor to work with over the years. You just heard from Tamla Barksdale. She and I met on the school board. And together, we were allies in support of our kids and public schools. And I'm just so thrilled that she will be a part of this effort, just like she was a part of our campaign. You will also hear from Ryan Pollack, who is the head of the Texas Building Trades Council. And this demonstrates my commitment to putting money in the pocket of Texans, making sure that we have opportunities for good jobs and recruitment for hardworking Texans. You will also hear from my former colleague, Ernest Bales, who is a champion for public schools, a small business owner, a Republican, showing my commitment for this to be a transition that truly represents all of Texas. We will have a bipartisan transition and we will have a bipartisan administration and government in Texas. You will also hear from Joe Madden, who has many years helping with the transition of government in Harris County. He has legislative experience, been very active overseeing emergency management issues in Harris County, and I'm thrilled that he will be helping to lead up this transition team. And now I'm happy to turn it over to Joe Madden. Thank you, Governor-elect. It feels so good to say Governor-elect Hinojosa. My name is Joe Madden. I've worked in and around government for 23 years. I'm deeply honored to serve as the executive director of this transition. I was born and raised in Houston. I met my wife here on the UT campus, Hook 'em. When I was in school here, I walked down the street to the Texas Capitol. An 18-year-old got a job in the Texas House. And went to work fighting for public schools. That's how I started my career in government. I spent years working in the Capitol, trying to build public policy that delivered for Texas families. Over the last eight years I've had the fortune of working in Harris County with Harris County governmental leaders. One of the things that I specialize in is transitions and building governments that deliver on the promises that were made by these elected officials. Thank you. Through those roles I also managed several different emergencies, pandemics, floods, fires, explosions, and managed the multi-billion dollar budget. Texas is home It's where I'm raising my kids. It's where I'm lucky enough to coach baseball and softball. I'm doing this job for the governor-elect to deliver on her promise to my kids and her promise to the kids all across the state of Texas. We're going to deliver a vision for Texas that belongs to the people, by the people. Thank you. Afternoon, y'all. My name is Ryan Pollack. I'm a union electrician, member of IBEW Local 520 here in Austin, and I'm currently serving as the executive director of the Texas Building Trades Council. Union trades workers like myself are so proud and grateful for governor-elect Gina Hinojosa and for the good people of the state for wanting to fight for regular working Texans. That's what Gina's done her entire career, from her time as a labor attorney to fighting for better wages for workers as a trustee at AISD, to her time as my very own state rep. This is about an economy that works for all Texans and we do that by ensuring that working Texans get the high quality training that they need to do the work that needs to be done and so they're able to do that work safely and with dignity and that allows them, their families and their communities to thrive so that regular working people have a future they can look forward to. Thank you. Ernest Bales, a conservative Republican, who is honored and proud to be here along our governor-elect. I believe in Gina. And I have faith that we will be able to do good things for the state of Texas. We will put partisanship aside. We will work together for what is best for the kids of the state of Texas. We will be able to take care of education and we will support and listen to the people. And that is why I'm honored to be part of this transition. And I look forward to good things to come for the state of Texas. Thank you. And I think it should be noted. In furtherance of my commitment to making sure that this is a transition that is reflective of all Texans, is that we both have an Aggie and a Longhorn leading up this effort. I'm happy to take questions. I'm very excited about this historic day, and I'm excited about building a government that is working for the people of Texas to deliver. Thank you. Okay, I'm going to call on, we only have time for a few questions. Could we get WFAA? If you're not ready, Adam, go ahead. Governor-elect, some would say that with the way the voters turned out for all the Democratic candidates, if they gave you a mandate, why commit to having a bipartisan transition team after the election? Because this is about my campaign promises, what I ran to... To create as governor. We are forging a new way forward. People are tired of the divisions of the fighting tired of the culture wars. This is a time to come together in a way that is. About just delivering for the people of Texas, Ernest Bales, Representative Ernest Bales and myself were close allies delivering for our public schools. In fact, I count him as one of my best allies for public schools. That is his commitment. There is really little light between our positions on public education, and as such, he serves as a tremendous leader in this. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Hi, how are you? Thank you. I just wanted to talk to you about, you know, the importance of the people of the valley, also the importance of, you know, Boca Chica Beach is really important to a lot of the people in the valley. There has been a lot of things said about selling that to SpaceX. How important is it for you to kind of protect that and, you know, let that... It's such an important resource. The valley is so important to me as the place I am from, and I will never forget it. And so you should know that this morning I was pleased to talk to the executive director of Texas Parks and Wildlife to confirm that this issue was not on today's agenda and to request that no action be taken in respect out of this transition. Thank you. Um, uh... Kayla? Thank you for that question. Greg Abbott has been gracious and made sure to make me understand that they are going to fully cooperate with this transition and be helpful as they can. We are both committed to ensuring there is a smooth transition so that the people of Texas are taken care of. Thank you. Lauren. Republican, there are some Republican efforts in the capital. Here's what I would say. 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. 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. Thank you. Over here, Ben. I've had the one call, but our teams have been speaking. Thank you. On the education commissioner, you said that you would replace Mike Moran. Can you give us an update on where the replacement process stands? I mean, do you have a short list at this point? Are you talking with people? What does that look like? We are actively interviewing people for that position. Thank you. In Spanish? Do you speak Spanish? Is that okay? Okay. Yeah. Una pregunta. Sí. Yes, well, Abbott told me that he wants to help me to ensure that we can continue the services for Texans, and I thank him very much. And it's also important that we have leaders here who are... Thank you, guys. Thank you.