Of course it’s an issue. Most things should be.
Rep. Gina Hinojosa
Corpus Christi’s impending water crisis — and delayed action by city leaders — has become an issue in the race for Texas governor, with Gov. Greg Abbott threatening a state takeover of the city and his Democratic opponent, Gina Hinojosa, criticizing his “strong-arm” approach.
Frustration grew after the Corpus Christi City Council voted last week to again push back a decision on building an almost billion-dollar water treatment plant, even as projections show the coastal community facing mandatory water restrictions in early 2027.
After the vote, the governor’s office didn’t hold back.
“The moment for leadership arrived, but the Council met it with a whimper and a complaint,” said Robert Black, Abbott’s chief of staff.
Instead of taking “meaningful steps to meet the long-term water needs of their citizens,” council members “chose to bicker, blame, and hide behind excuses and ‘studies’ rather than take action,” Black said in a statement.
Black underscored the governor’s frustration with city leaders. In March, when water levels in two of the city’s main reservoirs fell to historic lows, Abbott said: “Corpus Christi is a victim not because of lack of water. They’re a victim because of a lack of ability to make a decision.”
Abbott threatened a state takeover if Corpus Christi, the state’s eighth-largest city, couldn’t get its act together. “We can only give them a little time more before the state of Texas has to take over and micromanage that city and run that city,” he said.
Hinojosa criticized Abbott’s rigid approach.
“Let’s be clear: this is not just a city issue, this is a crisis that requires a governor who shows up as a partner with local communities — bringing together state and federal resources to get this right — not someone who threatens to cut off funding unless a city does exactly what his insiders want,” Hinojosa said last week.
Asked what she would do differently, Hinojosa told The Texas Tribune she would seek to regulate industrial use.
“As Governor, I’d sign an executive order to ensure citizens of Corpus have the water they need by making industry cut back when water is at risk and pay to fund solutions so we never wind up here again,” she said.
Hinojosa, an Austin state representative, accused Abbott of prioritizing Corpus Christi’s industrial sector over residents. The city’s large-volume customers consume more than half of the city’s water supply, including Valero Energy Corp. and ExxonMobil (both have donated to Abbott’s campaign, $25,000 this year from Valero and $15,000 from Exxon in 2024).
“Industry guzzles two-thirds of the water and needs to pay its fair share,” Hinojosa said last week in a statement. “Instead, Abbott wanted the citizens to pay so his donors could keep getting water cheap.”
See here, here, and here for some background. Abbott has used his power to give Corpus some relief, though it comes with the risk of making bigger problems down the line. I approve of Hinojosa’s response, but I might have gone further and called his bluff, like okay hotshot, you talk a big game, but what would you actually do? Other than delegate the problem to someone else, which you know would be the answer. Hinojosa’s call to make the industrial sites bear the brunt of the cost has a lot of upside for her – who other than the oligarchs are going to side with ExxonMobil here – with some downside risk of being vulnerable to accusations that this would raise gas prices. I’d take that trade, with my eyes open.
Beyond that, at a broader level, the theme of this race ought to be Everything That Is Wrong With Texas Is The Fault Of Greg Abbott and The Republicans In Charge. He’s been Governor for 12 years, and he was Attorney General for 12 years before that. The Lege has had a Republican majority in both chambers since 2003, and we all know that the last time a Dem won statewide it was 1994. The point is to lean all the way in and say everything that’s broken is because they broke it, and everything that needs fixing they haven’t fixed. They’ll try to blame Joe Biden and Barack Obama before him, but Donald Trump is President now, and we all know how much they loooooove Trump. They’re in charge, they’re responsible, doesn’t matter the issue. You don’t like it, you want it to get fixed, you gotta vote them out. Simple.
Will it work? I mean, the track record suggests a long shot at best. But it’s simple and straightforward and actionable, and all they’ll be able to do in response will be to duck and dodge. Whatever it is – gas prices, New World Screwworm, data centers, terrible job market, every school district having to make big cutbacks, you name it – is their fault, and the fix is to vote for us. The late Kevin Drum once said there are two kinds of elections – Experience Matters, and It’s Time For A Change. I think we know what kind of election this is. Lean all the way in.