In the December 28 episode, Plano Mayor John Muns discusses the city’s effort to entice the Dallas Stars to move north, and how long it will take to fix those darn roads. McAllen Mayor Javier Villalobos talks about the immigration crackdown in the border city and how its impacting business. And San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones tells us about the opportunities and challenges facing her city in the year ahead.
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Straight ahead, how hard is Plano working right now to get the Dallas Stars to relocate? One of our questions for Mayor John Munz and the latest on whether Plano will remain with DART. President Trump's immigration crackdown impacting growth along the border. McAllen's Republican Mayor Javier Villalobos on the calls he's getting from the community about it and the message he has for administration officials.
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6 months into her job as mayor of San Antonio, Gina Ortiz Jones and what she did not expect with the top job at City Hall, and the one statistic she says that keeps her up at night. Plus, looking back at 2025, what will it be remembered for politically? See if you agree with the round table.
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Inside Texas Politics with Jason Whiteley starts now.
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Thank you for being with us here during the holidays. Three big things to keep an eye on as we head into the new year. The midterm election, obviously the most important here, and a question some Republicans are asking right now Will inflation and President Trump's unpopularity put any GOP seats in danger across the state and nationwide? Some congressional seats perhaps, maybe even the Texas Attorney General's office, since it does not have an incumbent.
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Keep an eye on property tax relief because despite legislative moves, Texas still has some of the most expensive property taxes in the country. Governor Abbott wants to eliminate school property taxes. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick wants to lower the age for the senior homestead exemption when your taxes get frozen from 65 down to 55%, and a growing number of conservatives want to get rid of property taxes altogether.
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And the future of mass transit, it is on the line here in North Texas in 2026. Voters in four cities will decide whether to leave the Dallas Area Rapid Transit or DART and keep the penny that they pay in through sales taxes. It's Plano, Irving, Farmers Branch, and Highland Park all frustrated with the transit agency. Of note here, it's been 30 years since that frustration though has actually gone to a vote.
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Our program right now though begins with three influential mayors across the state. We begin in Plano, Collin County, as it tackles two big issues in 2026. 1st, whether to remain in DART. And second, it's quiet effort behind the scenes to get the Dallas Stars to move north into Collin County. John Munz is our first guest, the mayor of Plano, who's at the head of both issues in his city. Mayor, thanks for coming in. It's good to see you.
< spk_2 - 00:02:38.1000000 >
Good to see you. Thank you,
< spk_0 - 00:02:39.1000000 >
Jason. Let's start with a topic a lot of people are talking about right now. How aggressive is Plano being right now to get the Dallas Stars to move up there?
< spk_2 - 00:02:47.8600000 >
Well, we, we would love to have them and, and it's really up to the stars, uh, to make that decision. Uh, I think, I think it's pretty obvious that, uh, we, we would be thrilled to, to have an organization like that in Plano and so it's really not up to us, it's, it's up to them and, and we're hoping that, uh. Uh, they come to Plano.
< spk_0 - 00:03:11.7200000 >
Is Plano prepared to sweeten the pot, to, to, to roll out the red carpet here and offer some things to get the NHL team up there? I
< spk_2 - 00:03:19.8690000 >
think we'll do, we'll do whatever we can to make sure that, uh, it, it's a, it's a really good offer, but at the same time it protects Plano's community. And, and what we're doing right now for, for everyone and, and make sure we protect the resources in Plano.
< spk_0 - 00:03:37.1100000 >
Are there actual talks happening between you guys and the team?
< spk_2 - 00:03:40.4700000 >
I can't
< spk_0 - 00:03:40.9290000 >
say. That's a yes, Mayor. That's a yes, but, but, OK, something might be happening in the background. All right. Um, let's shift off and talk about, uh, mass transit here. In November we spoke with you about, uh, Plano residents going to vote, uh, next May about whether to remain in DART. The DART CEO, after our original interview, she told us that she's not optimistic that the talks ahead of time right now could actually stop this election. What does your gut say?
< spk_2 - 00:04:09.1100000 >
You know, I, I, I don't know where she's getting that information from because we really are trying to make a deal that's really good for all 13 member cities. We, we realize the region part of DART and we realize not all of us have the same needs, uh, whether it be, you know, all rail, buses, paratransit, all these other things that are really important to transportation.
< spk_2 - 00:04:36.9800000 >
But we would love to come up with a solution that works for DART works for us to be able to, you know, have a system that has more ridership that's more safe, that really does. You know, provide an opportunity for our residents to get from point A to point B without, you know, a, a huge effort, uh, that's really occurring right now.
< spk_0 - 00:05:02.2090000 >
You told us that the city's longtime offer, I believe, to stay in DART would be to pay a halfpenny of every dollar collected through sales tax instead of the full 1 penny, uh, get rid of the buses, keep the rails. Has DART responded to that in these
< spk_2 - 00:05:13.4200000 >
talks? Not yet, not yet. DART is working on kind of evaluating their rates, and they plan on getting back with us hopefully in early January because we've already put a committee together to look at alternative transit.
< spk_2 - 00:05:32.2900000 >
And uh we're almost through with that and so we we just really wanna see what our options are and what DART is willing to do and be prepared and we can pull it down up to March 18th so if if DART and us and other member cities can come to an agreement, uh, you know, that'd be a, a wonderful scenario and I'm, you know, I'd love to see it happen.
< spk_0 - 00:06:00.2090000 >
How confident are you that could happen?
< spk_2 - 00:06:03.6190000 >
We've worked for 6 years, 3 legislative sessions, and we're still kind of right where we were 6 years ago. I'm, I'm always optimistic that we can come up with a solution, but there's gonna have to be changes not only on our part but for DART's part too.
< spk_0 - 00:06:22.1780000 >
Mayor, good to see you.
< spk_2 - 00:06:23.0190000 >
Good to see you. Thank you.
< spk_0 - 00:06:25.5100000 >
All right, let's bring in the round table to talk about the politics of this. Bud Kennedy is here from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Ashley Goode, political director at KU in Austin, and Natalie Haddad, political reporter at WFAA in Dallas. Uh, let's start with, uh, professional sports, Bud. Dallas has fumbled this issue of keeping professional sports teams many times in the past, NFL, Major League Baseball. How much is on the line here for NHL? Well,
< spk_3 - 00:06:47.6300000 >
I, I, I think the. Stars want to be in Plano. They want to be in the suburbs. I think they also probably talked to Alliance about being in far north Fort Worth, you know, pro sports all over the country is moving to the suburbs. Uh, I think that the, the stars definitely want to be there. It's where most of their fans are. A lot of them are on the Tarrant County side too. It's fine if they're in Plano. Just be sure there's a train to the game,
< spk_0 - 00:07:08.5790000 >
a train to the game. We'll talk mass transit in a moment, but Natalie. Dallas need to keep the stars, and then, you know, the immediate question I have is what happens to the American Airlines Center. It's only 25 years old. You
< spk_4 - 00:07:18.9290000 >
know, we already know that Dallas is trying to keep the stars because of, you know, especially during this lawsuit that we've got between the Stars and the Mavs. They're fighting over the AAC, and I know that Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson wants to make sure that both teams stay in Dallas, but I don't know if I see that being a reality because to Bud's point, professional sports. are moving to the suburbs and Collin County has a lot of hockey fans, has a lot going for it in Collin County, period.
< spk_0 - 00:07:41.3690000 >
Yes, and other teams have shown that they are just happy to pick up and move. Let's talk mass transit here for a moment. Also, Ashley, the state needs water. The state needs electricity to push forward here, but doesn't it need mass transit if we're going to continue to recruit businesses and bring in thousands and thousands of new residents?
< spk_5 - 00:07:59.4800000 >
I mean I think that you say yes, but on a statewide level I think that's seen as something that local entities need to take charge of. I, I don't see that Texas feels like it has the bandwidth on a statewide level right to start putting those pieces into place. Think about how many times we've seen these big projects we're talking about from the Texas T-Bone high speed rail, things of that nature, they get thrown out there and then those deals fall apart, and I feel like it's because we don't necessarily have a lot of buying. And from lawmakers in Austin, yeah, we
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haven't for, for decades, uh, when you talk about Texas T-Bone, the, the bullet train, all kinds of these issues, though,
< spk_3 - 00:08:34.2150000 >
Jason, it seems like what Plano wants is what Tarrant County has, you know, Plano should leave Dart and join Trinity Metro. You have, you have a half cent. You have a great train to the airport. You have a train to Dallas, and, uh, you know, some bus service and a small bureaucracy. Yeah,
< spk_0 - 00:08:49.1840000 >
indeed. So back to you guys in just a moment. A lot more ahead here, including this. When we come back, immigration raids are slowing construction in the Rio Grande Valley. McAllen's Republican Mayor Javier Villalobos on where he disagrees with the Trump administration. And Texans facing affordability issues like many other states, the one statistic keeping up San Antonio's mayor when inside Texas politics returns.
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Welcome back to Inside Texas Politics. Now to the Texas border and a Republican mayor worried about how President Trump's immigration crackdown is directly hurting his city. Javier Villalobos is the mayor of McAllen and tells us how that effort is affecting his city's growth. Mayor, it's good to see you again. Thanks for making time for us here. A lot has changed since we last spoke with you. There have been tariffs. There have been immigration crackdown. Nowhere is this a bigger deal than actually on the border there in McAllen.
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I'm curious how it has changed McAllen, if at all, over the last 12 months that Trump has been in office.
< spk_6 - 00:09:54.8200000 >
Well, it, it definitely has changed, but actually, I don't think it's necessarily just here around the border area. I think it has affected uh throughout the country. Of course, uh, when you talk about the immigration crackdown, that's something that's definitely, um, well, in reality, yeah, it's kinda hurting us, especially the construction industry.
< spk_6 - 00:10:13.4140000 >
we know like, uh, we get, uh, we get the calls from construction companies, developers about what can we do as a city to try to change this or modify this or do something and we tell them, look, we can talk to our congressmen, our senators, and uh letters to the administration. And that's what, that's all we can do. I mean, we, it is out of our control. We know it, it is hurting, hurting us, but that's all we can do.
< spk_6 - 00:10:39.6900000 >
But we know, uh, for example, uh, we have projects that are, that have slowed down big time, and to us in the city. Economic development is very important. Construction, the creation of, of more of a tax base, I mean, that's how we provide the type of services we do. So it has been
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affecting. Mayor, you're a Republican. If you could reach out to the Homeland Security Secretary Christie Nome or President Trump, what would you tell him?
< spk_6 - 00:11:05.0200000 >
You know what? I think their idea initially of deporting people that were not good and productive, I agree with it's uh what I think I don't agree with and a lot of people whether you're Republican or Democrat is uh getting rid of people that are good and productive and sometimes people that we have invested so much time and money and I'm talking about education wise. Those are the type of people that I think our country needs, and I've always said it, we need to find a pathway to lawful employment.
< spk_6 - 00:11:34.8800000 >
I understand that maybe, yes, if they did come illegally, that is, that is not good. But you know what, even, even crimes committed by individuals. He have a statute of limitations, you know, so it, it boggles my mind when somebody has been here for 2030 years, good productive person, law-abiding, assists and pays taxes cause they do. Even, even people may say that, uh, people that are here illegally don't pay taxes, they do one way or another, uh.
< spk_6 - 00:12:05.3590000 >
It boggles my mind when, when we want to get rid of somebody that, you know, we should find a way for them to, to
< spk_0 - 00:12:11.2800000 >
stay. I'm curious how things have, have changed with the cross-border commerce that you guys rely on a lot. What are the bridge traffic been like over the last year?
< spk_6 - 00:12:22.1790000 >
Right now, a lot of people are not willing to come over. We, McAllen has two international bridges, uh, Hidalgo, McAllen, Hidalgo, and Anzalduas, and we have noticed a difference. We have noticed that a lot of people are concerned about, even if they have permission to come, even if they may have a visa or whatever permission they have, that they can be, uh, taken away, and it has, it has happened, and not allowed to come in. So, a lot of times it has, uh, You know, it, it has slowed down.
< spk_6 - 00:12:51.9090000 >
Fortunately, when it comes to commerce, I think we're still pretty strong
< spk_0 - 00:12:55.9090000 >
with affordability as a big issue for 2026. Do you expect the GOP to still make inroads like it has in South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley over the past few cycles?
< spk_6 - 00:13:05.0300000 >
I think, I, I think the, the Republican Party has, in a sense. Entrenched itself in South Texas. I don't think it's ever going to go back to the way it used to be. A lot of people, even though they may disagree with some of the administration's positions, they agree with a lot of the policies of the Republican Party. I, I've always said that the South Texas has always been very conservative. They just. Didn't quite see it.
< spk_6 - 00:13:29.8800000 >
So now they realize that, hey, this party, I may not agree with everything, but, uh, we agree, or just like myself agree with a lot of policies, especially usually economic policies, even though right now not 100%. Mayor,
< spk_0 - 00:13:45.5100000 >
it's good to see you. Thank you for the time.
< spk_6 - 00:13:47.4400000 >
Certainly, good to see you.
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Now to San Antonio where affordability is of paramount concern going into the new year. 6 months into her job as mayor of San Antonio, Gina Ortiz Jones joined us from her office at City Hall. Mayor, welcome to the program here. Here we are at the end of the year, 1st 6 months down in the books as mayor of San Antonio. What, what did you not expect about this position that you've already faced?
< spk_7 - 00:14:14.1590000 >
Well, I, I didn't realize I'd be having so much fun. Um, no, look, this is, I am so honored, uh, to leave my hometown. Uh, we've got some great opportunities certainly in our community, but, um, as we were just talking, we've got some economic challenges, uh, certainly across the country. Um, you know, top of mind, obviously is gonna be the implementation of, uh, one, the one Big Beautiful bill, which will see cuts in our community to Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, and SNAP. Um, so we're trying to weather that and, and best account for that as we look at the FY 27 budget.
< spk_7 - 00:14:43.5990000 >
Um, and, you know, not surprisingly, given the importance of trade to San Antonio, you know, just last week I led a trade delegation, my first international trip actually, and we went to Mexico, uh, obviously very fitting given the close connection between San Antonio and Mexico. But, you know, the review of, uh, of the USMCA trade deal, uh, is gonna be really important, um, not only for the, the economic impacts today, but also those advanced management. Manufacturing sectors that are on the horizon, uh, that we look forward to bringing here to San Antonio.
< spk_7 - 00:15:11.5900000 >
So it's really about making sure that we're best postured for both the economic environment but also the opportunities ahead.
< spk_0 - 00:15:17.8300000 >
Aside from the cuts from the one big beautiful bill that are coming to the city budget there, let's talk about affordability for a moment. That's fast becoming an issue in 2026. Tell us about the economy today. What do you expect it to look like there in the city in six months?
< spk_7 - 00:15:31.8200000 >
Well, and, and to be very clear, the, the federal cuts, the implementation of the One Big Beautiful bill, that's not just a city issue, right? I mean, that, that's not a city, that's not just impacting the city budget, that's impacting the entire community. To give you a sense, right, we just lived through what this could potentially look like, um, with the SNAP, the, the pause in SNAP benefits. Every month, every month, $50 million worth of federal funding comes into our community in the form of SNAP benefits.
< spk_7 - 00:15:59.4600000 >
And so, yes, affordability is, is top of mind in our community already. The other step that keeps me up, um, is, again, the fragility of our community. A $100 increase in the median rent in our community leads to a 9% increase. and homelessness.
< spk_7 - 00:16:14.9550000 >
And so, we are being very thoughtful about, you know, ways in which we can keep costs down for our folks as much as possible, um, and ensuring that we are telling the story of what these cuts, these changes in the, in the federal funding could mean, not only in terms of somebody's pocketbook, but also in terms of public health, for example. Uh, when you look at funding, for example, for, uh, a loss, a decrease in funding for immunizations, as you know, Jason, uh, you know, public health, uh, and, and.
< spk_7 - 00:16:43.6300000 >
Um, our awareness of it, are, are we able to, our ability to react. This is one of the areas where we are the least resilient, but could have the most severe consequences, right? We all remember COVID. And so when we think about public health, it's not just the, the loss of funding, it's also our ability to respond, which is why I wanted the, the group together to come together and help us think through those things.
< spk_0 - 00:17:02.4190000 >
Mayor, it's good to see you. Thank you for the time.
< spk_7 - 00:17:04.6300000 >
We appreciate it. So take care.
< spk_0 - 00:17:06.3790000 >
And the roundtable is ready when we come back here on Inside Texas Politics. Plus heading into the new year, we do invite you to subscribe to our podcast. It's called Y'alllitics. The concept here, very simple. We have a Texas craft beer. We talk about a political issue here in Texas. These episodes drop every Sunday wherever you get your podcasts. All right, time now for reporters roundtable to put the headlines in perspective.
< spk_0 - 00:17:32.5890000 >
Bud, Ashley, and Natalie all back with us here, and we're going to take a moment now to look back at the political year that was 2025. Bud, so much has happened over the last 12 months from Elon Musk just shaking up the federal bureaucracy, um, to the Trump tariffs. What's happened. To Texas farmers with these record yields but nowhere to sell them to, what do you think this year will be remembered for?
< spk_3 - 00:17:55.4100000 >
Well, we had a legislative session that was just, it was just constant rinse spin and back in the cycle again. It was like you went through vouchers. Well, first of all, you went through the Speaker fight and you had, you know, Donald Trump himself who pretty much united. Republicans and say, OK, Burroughs, let's get all the people behind Burroughs and get these vouchers moving. Then you had the voucher fight and then you had this Washington demand saying get us some more districts and so you had the whole redistricting, the walkout.
< spk_3 - 00:18:24.1890000 >
I think the legislative session, it was a nonstop merry go round.
< spk_0 - 00:18:28.5890000 >
Yes, a huge political year, Ashleigh.
< spk_5 - 00:18:31.8590000 >
Indeed it was and I think that what I really walk away from is if there was ever any doubt that Texas is king, it showed up this year. You look at that redistricting fight and the arms race that it started across the country, right, when Democrats decided to leave Texas and, and go to excuse me, not go to California, but go to Chicago to get the attention of California to try to get those maps redrawn and then you had state after state after state start to redraw their maps. Talking about redrawing their maps, what starts here really does change the world.
< spk_0 - 00:19:01.7190000 >
That's a good point though,
< spk_4 - 00:19:02.6090000 >
Natalie. I absolutely agree with everything Ashley has said that Texas is king when it comes to politics, and I think we talk about that often, how what happens in Texas will be seen in other states and, and we see that similarly when Florida does something, Texas will take that on and also like take it tenfold and so it saw a lot of power plays in Texas this year
< spk_0 - 00:19:21.7090000 >
and as we look ahead though to 26. Did Republicans overreach at all, do you think, Bud? The Democrats played too much of a hand at all, especially with the corn
< spk_3 - 00:19:29.8100000 >
break, you know, the Republican map in Texas will not turn out to be 5 seats. It'll turn out to be 4, maybe 3 for Republicans, and it'll turn out to be kind of a wash when it gets to Washington. But the, you know, you have the effects of the immigration raids in Texas. It's been downplayed compared to the coast. But you know, we heard the McAllen mayor talking about you lose shoppers, you lose, you know. People who are essential, most of the illegal immigrants who are here have stayed too long on a visa. They're here, they're shopping, they're spending money. All of a sudden their visas run out. They're supposed to go home.
< spk_3 - 00:19:59.6400000 >
They keep shopping and spending money, but we're picking them up and sending them back.
< spk_0 - 00:20:02.8900000 >
And and you know what, Ashley, as we're getting ready for this program here, I was thinking earlier today that we, we just haven't seen the same type of immigration raids in Texas as we have across the country. Is that because we're a red state or is it happening a lot more quietly?
< spk_5 - 00:20:16.8290000 >
I think it's happening quietly here. I think that you can't say that it isn't happening. I mean, when we look at some of the cases that we have seen in the Austin area, uh, in San Antonio, when this first happened, we were starting to see some of these situations here in Austin. I just think that it's happening quietly and I don't think that it's getting necessarily as as much attention because we are a red state and I think because of that there is.
< spk_5 - 00:20:39.5790000 >
The narrative that Republicans want to put forward about what red states are doing versus what, you know, blue states are doing, and I think, I think that's why you don't see as much attention
< spk_0 - 00:20:48.9000000 >
and you know who's been quiet here lately too, Natalie, is Elon Musk. I mean he, he dominated the headlines at the beginning of the year, but we haven't heard much from him in the past few months.
< spk_4 - 00:20:57.4590000 >
I know he is at a doge and is just probably living it up in his home in Bastrop and. Just chilling. Like, I don't really, you know, it's funny that you mentioned this because just the other day I was asking some friends, I wonder what Elon Musk is up to now because we, I mean, he was explosive in the beginning of the year and now he is kind of under the radar owning X, doing his SpaceX thing, and I'm curious to see. What comes in 2026 with Elon Musk, if anything at all, if,
< spk_0 - 00:21:21.7440000 >
if anything at all, I think that's, that's a huge question whether he is still a player at all or he's trying to resurrect the businesses SpaceX, Tesla,
< spk_3 - 00:21:29.6250000 >
etc. Was he the Texan of the Year or was he the bum steer of the year?
< spk_0 - 00:21:33.5840000 >
Texas Monthly there. All right, thanks so much guys. We appreciate that. Thank you for watching as well. We're back next Sunday to take you inside Texas politics and an early happy New Year to you. Take care.