In the January 4, 2026, episode, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins tells us land will be purchased for a new jail, but he explains why it will move to a new location. Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño, Jr. on why his county is expecting to add thousands of employees starting in 2026. And Potter County Judge Nancy Tanner discusses the financial challenges facing her county during her final year in office.
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Straight ahead, less than 60 days away now until the March primaries, which candidates have the edge in the new year? The roundtable on the races they will be watching. For the first time in decades, Dallas County is preparing to purchase property for a new county jail. Where will it go? And what does County Judge Clay Jenkins want to accomplish in a 5th term? Two of the questions we will ask.
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The Texas Panhandle going into the new year fighting a crime wave and tight budgets. Potter County Judge Nancy Tanner from Amarillo on the one big thing she's looking forward to in 2026. And on the Texas border, the immigration crackdown not affecting cross-border commerce like you might expect. Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino Junior joins us from Brownsville on that and his friendship with Elon Musk.
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Inside Texas Politics with Jason Whiteley starts now. Thank you for being here with us in the new year. I'm Jason Whiteley. We begin right now with the calendar because a lot is coming at us quickly here. The Democratic and Republican primary elections are on March 3rd. That's less than 60 days from right now. Expect to see a lot more about the candidates running between now and then. You can still register to vote up until February 2nd.
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Then early voting runs from February 17th to the 27th of the month, and with a number of candidates in many of these races, expect some of them to go to a runoff. Runoff election is already scheduled for May 26th. We begin the program though right now with Dallas County where after years of discussing it, Dallas County is finally moving forward with plans for a brand new jail.
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It's an enormous expense for taxpayers, but the new one is not going to be located right in the middle of the city's two iconic Calatrava Bridge. Our first guest is Clay Jenkins, who is campaigning for a 5th term as Dallas County Judge. Judge Jenkins, good to see you again here.
< spk_1 - 00:02:04.1290000 >
Great to be here.
< spk_0 - 00:02:04.8790000 >
You, you recently filed to run for a, uh, 5th term as Dallas County Judge. What specific unfinished business do you have left?
< spk_1 - 00:02:13.6390000 >
You know, there's always, uh, unfinished business, and, uh, for instance, uh, in our jail we're seeing overcrowding now, uh, in Miami and Ohio, two Republican states you're hearing from this Democrat.
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They have passed the Baker Act and the Baker Act, which is part of what they call the Miami model, has led to great reductions in jail population by getting the people with serious mental illness and drug addiction issues into diversion programs that are mandatory for them where they can't just walk out the back door when things get tough.
< spk_1 - 00:02:46.6600000 >
Um, that has led to Miami, a place with 2.4 million people, having between 2 and 3000 people in jail every day, and in Dallas County we have nearly 7000 people in jail every day. That costs the taxpayers a lot of money
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and to get these changes though, you'd have to have the legislature. Physically make changes, right? This is not something the county can do on its own. That's right.
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And so I'm inviting the chair and vice chair of the Senate and the chair and the vice chair of the House Criminal justice committees where this would be heard to come to Miami with me in April and see for themselves, uh, this great model.
< spk_0 - 00:03:20.7580000 >
You and I have talked over the years about the need for a new jail. Where does that stand now? Because it would be a, a, a huge expense for the county,
< spk_1 - 00:03:28.0500000 >
huge expense, but unfortunately you don't really have a choice with jails once they finish their useful, uh, life, right? Um, then they're really not that useful anymore. Also, if you're building a jail now, you probably wouldn't build it right in the middle of the two Calatrava bridges on the postcard front door of the Dallas.
< spk_0 - 00:03:49.6690000 >
So what, what's the latest with this? Do you expect to be conversation about this in 2026? And, and I know you and I talked a couple of years ago about potentially finding somewhere else for the jail. It has to be within what, 5 miles of, of the, of the county courthouse. Is that
< spk_1 - 00:04:02.1100000 >
right? That's right. Uh, we'll find another spot. And it won't be uh between the cattle driver bridges and we'll build a jail that is better at outcomes because it's the same thing with the mental health facility that we're talking about with UT Southwestern why I'm promoting that UT Southwestern plan. If you gotta pay for good outcomes to get good outcomes at um at UT Southwestern, you've gotta build a jail that can get you good outcomes.
< spk_1 - 00:04:31.3800000 >
Um, because that's the best thing for public safety. If all we do is cycle criminals through the jail over and over and over again and they go back out and commit crimes again, um, that's not the way to handle public safety.
< spk_0 - 00:04:43.5100000 >
Do you expect any movement on that in 26 though, on a new jail?
< spk_1 - 00:04:46.6600000 >
I do. I think we'll have the land bought uh in, in 26 and uh we've got consultants that are looking at how we build this and we'll be moving towards that. It's a little bit like the convention center. You don't just throw up a jail in, you know, 9 months or a year. It's a multi-year, closer to a decade project to get it all done and approved and built.
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Where is Dallas County looking for property for a new
< spk_1 - 00:05:09.9150000 >
jail? Well, I'd love to tell you that,
< spk_0 - 00:05:11.9940000 >
but you can tell us, Judge,
< spk_1 - 00:05:13.0530000 >
land speculators also love to know because for some reason
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they wanna jack the prices
< spk_1 - 00:05:17.0350000 >
up. The property values, you know, the, the, yeah, prices get jacked up.
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Judge, good to see you again.
< spk_1 - 00:05:22.1130000 >
Great to see you.
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Alright, let's bring in the round table to talk about the politics of criminal justice. Bud Kennedy is here from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Ashley Godot's with us. Political director at Caview in Austin, and Natalie Haddad's political reporter at WFAA in Dallas. Bud, the push for better outcomes has been tried and is happening across the state for county jail inmates. Tarrant County, Travis County, in Austin, and even other places. People
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are looking for a better way to handle mental health. The jails in Texas should not be the biggest mental health facilities in the state. At the same time, the people, the public, the voters, uh, want criminals locked up and so, but you have a county judge who's looking at the budget every time somebody gets arrested, it costs money in the courts, it costs money in the prosecutor's office, it costs money in the jail. That's why the judge will say don't lock people up unless they need to be
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locked up. And you know, Ashley, the Travis County Judge Andy Brown's been on a program a number of times talking about the mental health diversion that he's really pushed for there. He had success in the legislature as well. He's actually made some progress on this front.
< spk_3 - 00:06:22.0190000 >
Yeah, and I mean I think when you look at some of the things that uh are happening in Travis County in Austin proper, in the surrounding cities, even going down to the level of having these mental health teams that can go out with officers that can go out instead of officers embedding them excuse me, even with. Uh, other first responders, it's looking at things on those levels so that you can stop that from even happening, stop it before it even gets to the jails and becomes a more expensive problem for the county.
< spk_0 - 00:06:49.9400000 >
Yeah, and, and Natalie, in, in, in Dallas County alone, a lot's gonna be on the line for this, for, for, you know, for getting this passed and for the better outcomes as, as Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins
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wants. Sure, uh, getting anything through the Texas legislature is a hurdle in itself, but Austin was able to do it and. I don't see why Dallas wouldn't be able to do it. You know, having a mental health issue is not a crime, but it is something that has to be addressed. And to Bud's point, jails should not be the largest mental health institutions in the city.
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And you know, Governor Patrick has pushed for, you know, new mental health hospitals across the state and a big push on criminal justice reform, bail reform because of what's happened in Harris County too. I can't imagine this would be that big of a deal in the leg. bud, well,
< spk_2 - 00:07:32.3340000 >
you know, the state has gone back to, uh, mental health hospitals after kind of decentralizing them a few terms ago. Now they've gone and built a new one in Houston, you know, added more of the hopes for one in Tarrant County, uh, and then the other question is juvenile facilities too. The judge didn't talk about that. The juvenile facilities are going to be growing again. They've been shrinking for a long time.
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All right, a lot more ahead here, guys, plus a lot more ahead on the program, including this. We're going to the Texas Panhandle up next here on Inside Texas Politics. Potter County Judge Nancy Tanner with us from Amarillo on two problems there that officials are trying to get a handle on in 2026. And optimism on the border this new year. Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino Junior with us from Brownsville when Inside Texas politics returns.
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Welcome back to Inside Texas Politics. President Trump's immigration crackdown has sparked fear and uncertainty, but along the border, the daily flow of traffic and trade between Brownsville and Matamoros is actually growing. Our next guest, Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino Junior, who we reached at the county courthouse in Brownsville. Judge, welcome back to the program here. A lot has changed since we spoke with you last year this time. The Trump administration prioritized an immigration crackdown and tariffs. The Trump administration delivered on that.
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I'm curious how that has changed Cameron County, if at all.
< spk_5 - 00:08:59.8400000 >
Well, in a, in a, in a short statement, we've been impacted in the same way that the rest of the country has been impacted. Uh, the, the, uh, the raids at the Home Depots and Lowe's and at construction sites and, and hotels have, have had an impact with regards to, to the workforce. Uh, criminals, especially violent ones, I completely understand.
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Uh, individuals who have been here for years, decades, uh, raising their family, working hard, being part of their, uh, their community, uh, that's a different story.
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How is all this being received?
< spk_5 - 00:09:36.0900000 >
Uh, not, uh, not in a very positive light whatsoever, to be quite frank. It, it, it remains, uh, too much of a viable political issue, but until I guess that there's pushback from a negative standpoint, uh, we may not see any change. But I'm hopeful that calmer and cooler minds and more understanding and empathetic hearts will prevail.
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Cameron County is unique, obviously with a border right there and, and Matamoros on the other side of the, of the river. Has the Trump administration, and the rhetoric and the immigration crackdowns, has that affected the cross-border commerce that you guys have enjoyed for decades?
< spk_5 - 00:10:14.6300000 >
The, the, the, our, our bridge crossings continue to, to, uh, creep upwards and get back to. And past the levels that we were at uh before COVID. So that is a good sign. The cross-border trade continues to be a good sign.
< spk_5 - 00:10:28.8660000 >
Uh, there, uh, I, I think if we were to focus on that aspect of our security, uh, you know, purposes, we, I think we'd be much better served making sure that we're enhancing, uh, legal, uh, and across.
< spk_5 - 00:10:45.7110000 >
Border trade rather than just this potential uh personnel aspect because without, you know, trade with our 2nd or our 1st largest trading partner, that's gonna continue to impact our economy both statewide and nationally in a very negative form. And we're seeing that uh kind of on a daily basis with, with regards to the, the uncertainty of tariff policy and, and everything else that's going on.
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Judge, I remember last time we spoke, you were quite hopeful about starbase there on the coast. And Elon Musk, I believe you said you even texted him every so often. Since then, uh, Musk took that high profile position in the Trump administration. I'm curious if you guys are still in communication about what's going on over there on the coast with his SpaceX launches.
< spk_5 - 00:11:30.2290000 >
We haven't communicated as much lately, but one of the I think the benefits of having good communication is the fact that uh they've made the decision to move their corporate headquarters from California to to Starbase here in Cameron County. So, uh, we're expecting another couple of 1000 in the next year and potentially as many as 4 or 6000 more employees in the next two years. We want them to succeed.
< spk_5 - 00:11:58.3090000 >
And in a few years, if the starship becomes the next mode of transport, you know, transportation worldwide or globally, so that you and I can get from, from Brownsville to Singapore in 1 hour or from Brownsville to, to, to Germany in 45 minutes, uh, you know, people are gonna look back and say, I can't Can't believe that happened. I'm sure people thought the same thing when the Wright brothers said we're gonna build uh this machine that'll, that'll put us to flight in the air in the air. So, I'm not putting it past them.
< spk_5 - 00:12:26.3800000 >
I don't know if I'll get on one, but, uh, but certainly that's their goal. So that way, uh, if it becomes the next mode of travel on Earth, it'll help sustain their uh extraterrestrial uh plans outside of, uh, outside of Earth.
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Judge, we'll all be coming to Brownsville for that. If it happens, it's good to see you again.
< spk_5 - 00:12:45.2600000 >
Good to see you too. Thanks for having me.
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All right, now to the Texas Panhandle starting the new year in a financially tight position and also battling a crime wave. Our next guest, Potter County Judge Nancy Tanner in Amarillo, managing that and preparing for the Panhandle's very first mental health hospital to open there soon. Judge Tanner, welcome back to the program here. You're, uh, going into the new year with a revenue shortfall here. I think 3.3 million more needed just to maintain current. Uh, revenue levels there.
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Do you expect to have to make cuts to the 2026 budget, or are there ways to plug the holes?
< spk_6 - 00:13:20.6590000 >
We have already done the budget. We didn't make any cuts. I mean, we made a few cuts, but we have to just, we had to raise taxes to come up with the money that we need to continue on. I'm telling you, times are tough. I'm sure I'm not the only county judge, uh, going through this too. We, we have so many things that we have to do we Built a new building, built a new courthouse, and got that done, and that's on the CEO.
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Now we're looking at building a jail, and I don't know how that's going to happen, but we need, we are so overcrowded, we have people that we have to farm out to other jails, and it's getting pretty pretty sticky around here.
< spk_0 - 00:13:59.5000000 >
I'm curious about the immigration crackdown that we've seen across the state and across the country. How has that impacted the Uh, the, the factories that you guys have there in the panhandle, do you, do you, have you guys seen,
< spk_6 - 00:14:11.9090000 >
I have not considerable. I have not seen any sudden impact on that. Um, we have the, the beef packing plants here. They are full. They are fully, fully employed and working hard, and of course we have the cattle industry up here. It's none, you know, it is awesome, really, really good cattle industry up here. So I have not seen any, any detail. About that at all. None at all.
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If the immigration raids end up in the panhandle and affect these packing industries, the beef packing plants you guys have there, how will that impact the local economy?
< spk_6 - 00:14:45.8460000 >
That would affect, that would definitely affect, and you know what, so far, fingers crossed, they haven't come up here to start rounding them up yet. So I'm hoping that. They, they let it go because a lot of these people, uh, you know, I don't know if they're here legally. They may be, they may be not. I don't know, but I sure hope that they stay because we need the workforce, and that's what they do. That's what they do the best.
< spk_0 - 00:15:09.6320000 >
You're a Republican. I know you, you support Republican causes. Is this what you signed up for when you voted in 2024?
< spk_6 - 00:15:15.5910000 >
Heck no. No, no, I didn't sign up for a lot of the things that I'm going through right now. Uh, no, I didn't sign up for that, but you know what? I'm gonna stick with it. I'm a Republican through and through, and I'm gonna stick to my guns and, and we'll see what happens. And, um, you know, I don't want to be unfair to anybody. I want to make everybody feel like they belong here, and I've done my best to do that.
< spk_0 - 00:15:39.6190000 >
And your priorities for 2026. What are they?
< spk_6 - 00:15:42.1690000 >
2026, I'm gonna retire. That's my first priority. But I have, you know, the mental health hospital is coming, and I am thrilled about that, so thrilled and so happy. And so I'm gonna retire, but I have talked to the Health and Human Services people. It's going to open in May of 207, and I asked them if I could, uh, Have something to do with that, with the, with maybe working there part-time or something or being a, being a part of it.
< spk_6 - 00:16:08.6590000 >
And they said, we insist that you do because you're the one who got it there, so we would love to have you on board somewhere. I don't want to make any money. I just wanna. I don't know if you can be a greeter at a state mental health hospital like you do at Walmart, but I'll, I'll think of something, something I could put my hand in and, and, and, uh, and, and help out as far as, as much as I can.
< spk_0 - 00:16:31.0590000 >
Judge, thank you for the time as always. We always appreciate it.
< spk_6 - 00:16:34.0200000 >
Thank you, sir. It's nice to see you again. You have a very happy holiday.
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The roundtable is ready when we come back here on Inside Texas Politics. And heading into the new year, we do invite you to subscribe to our brand new podcast. It's called Y'alllitics. Concept is simple here. We have a Texas craft beer. We talk about a political issue here in Texas, and these episodes drop every Sunday wherever you get your podcasts. This is Inside Texas Politics with Jason Whiteley.
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Alright, time now for reporters roundtable to put the headlines in perspective. Bud, Natalie, and Ashley all back with us here, and we are less than 60 days away from March primaries. Bud, looking ahead here, which candidates have the edge going into the new year because a lot of races are on the ballot? Well,
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I think the first candidate you say have the edge is, you know, anybody who's on the ballot underneath either the Democratic Senate nominee or Greg Abbott and the Senate nominee on the Republicans. The two Senate nominees are going to drive all the money for candidates down the ticket this year, and that's why this Democratic primary is so interesting because you have, you have two candidates who will pull in tons of money from across the country.
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It's probably the biggest Democratic primary we've seen maybe since Jim Mattox and Ann Richards, you know, 35 years ago.
< spk_0 - 00:17:52.5100000 >
It's been years and you think about this, Ashleigh. I hear Democrats constantly saying why in the world are two of the most popular Democrats running against each other for the US Senate nomination with Tallarico and Crockett.
< spk_3 - 00:18:06.5690000 >
Well I mean this is not the first time that we've seen a lot of Democrats running uh for in particular the US Senate, right? You had so many candidates running for a chance to face off with, uh, Senator Cornyn years and years and years ago. I, I just think that it is what folk wanna do where they feel like, I think right now where they feel like they can make the biggest impact and if you ask Congresswoman Crockett, she says because it's because the polls said that she could win. I mean.
< spk_3 - 00:18:36.9790000 >
We'll, we'll all see what happens, but that's the reason why she says she's in the race.
< spk_0 - 00:18:41.8190000 >
And you know, now the Democrats have a point here. People know the two candidates running for US Senate. They don't know the others running for governor in some of the other positions as well as they know these two, whether you're on TV, you're on social media. Both of them have huge followings,
< spk_4 - 00:18:56.5790000 >
right? And I. I think if you are let's say Team Terrico right now, you should probably get familiar with what he's done in the house. You know that Representative Gina Hinojosa, who's running for governor, was really involved, so that's a good way to get in, you know, into, uh, her sphere and to figure out what she's about. And then you've got, uh, Lieutenant Governor, uh, in the race for lieutenant governor rather Vicky Goodwin, Representative Vicky Goodwin from the House, um.
< spk_4 - 00:19:17.9590000 >
She doesn't have a whole lot of recognition, at least in my opinion, but it's time for those who plan to vote on the Democratic ticket for Democrats, of course, you know, to get really familiar this time.
< spk_0 - 00:19:28.0400000 >
By the way, how much do you think that that that whoever's at the top of the ticket is going to help these down ballot races like Natalie's talking about? Well,
< spk_2 - 00:19:35 >
that's where all the money comes from, all the, you know, tens of. Millions of dollars will come in just like Betto in 2018, and that's how the candidates went down the ballot. None of the Democrats down the ballot will be able to raise any money. Now on the Republican side, you have Cornyn, Paxton, Hunt, however that comes out, that will be probably worked out in May instead of in March. But that nominee will bring in a lot of money to that ticket. The Democrat will be trying to Not only turn out more Democratic voters but also keep more Republicans home
< spk_0 - 00:20:02.6920000 >
and uh looking ahead here to 2026 um actually the political year ahead here, inflation remains high at the grocery store. There's year over year inflation is still up as well. Unemployment has ticked up. This is gonna be a tough year for Democrats really on affordability for Republicans on affordability.
< spk_3 - 00:20:19.2800000 >
For Republicans, absolutely, I think what we're gonna see is whether or not people really start to voice the feelings that they're having when they go to the polls, and I mean if things continue with the way they are, I know we're hearing the president say that, you know, inflation is going down, but folks don't feel it at the end of the day when you go to the grocery store and it hurts, right, to pay hundreds of dollars for groceries and only end up with, you know, a handful of bags, that hurts.
< spk_3 - 00:20:46.5420000 >
People and I think that if Republicans in particular cannot get a control, cannot drive prices down, they're going to fill it come November.
< spk_0 - 00:20:54.0610000 >
They may well indeed. And then the other big test we're watching, Natalie, is school vouchers in Texas. They're going to be rolling
< spk_4 - 00:20:59.3330000 >
out. Yeah, we're about to know which private schools are going to take students who apply and get accepted for school vouchers, and we're also going to learn how many end up getting a voucher, $10,300.01 billion dollars total, you know, from the state going into this. Maybe 100,000 kids and that's not even what about those who get the $30,000 for those going to special education? Yes, pre-Kers now getting eligible for that same $10,300.
< spk_4 - 00:21:24.5150000 >
It's really not a whole lot of money for all the students who may want to get into these schools, and we don't even again know how many private schools are going to want to be a part of this program.
< spk_0 - 00:21:32.9460000 >
We'll find that out in February 4th is when parents can start applying too, so a lot ahead here in 2026. Thanks so much for watching. We'll be back next Sunday to take you inside Texas politics.