Rep. Larry Gonzales (R-Round Rock) announced he will resign on Thursday. In a statement, Gonzales said, “It’s time to move on. My little family needs me.” Gonzales said he is “happy with everything we have accomplished” during his time as a legislative intern, staffer and member. In August, the four-term incumbent announced that he would not seek re-election.
Rep. Larry
Gonzales
His resignation will trigger a special election, likely coinciding with the November general election. Round Rock case manager Cynthia Flores (R) and Round Rock education nonprofit executive James Talarico (D) are currently the only candidates for the general election.
In a tweet, Flores praised Gonzales as “a strong conservative legislator who has worked tirelessly representing the values of HD52 and Texas.” Gonzales endorsed Flores for the Republican primary. Gonzales “resisted the tides of partisanship and fought for real solutions to the problems facing our community,” Talarico said in a statement. “There are few politicians left like him who put people over politics.”
Not everyone had such sentiments. In a tweet, Cary Cheshire, vice president of Texans for Fiscal Responsibility/Empower Texans, called Gonzales “a true enemy of conservative reform in the Texas House.” The group has given Gonzales a lifetime grade of “F” on its biennial scorecard.
Gonzales is the third legislator to resign this year, joining former Reps. Leighton Schubert (R-Caldwell) and Larry Phillips (R-Sherman). Gov. Greg Abbott (R) ordered the special election to fill Phillips’s unexpired term to coincide with the general election.
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