Who is Gary Gates? Another Texas Republican pulled a 'Ted Cruz', fled the freezing state for sunny Florida
Texas Senator Ted Cruz is not the only one who fled a freezing Texas where the devastating winter storms have left millions of Texans without power or safe drinking water and at least 30 dead and faced subsequent backlash. Another Texas Republican is on the receiving end of public outrage for skipping town for a warmer destination amid the crisis.
Just like Cruz left Houston to go to Cancún sparking outrage, Gary Gates, a Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives for House District 28, is under fire after he flew his private jet to Orlando, Florida, on Wednesday, February 17.
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Who is Gary Gates?
According to Gates’ website, the politician “started by driving trucks but soon found his talent was in buying, renovating and renting homes and apartments.” On January 28, 2020, Gates won the special runoff election for Texas House District 28 by defeating Democrat Elizabeth A Markowitz of Katy, Texas.
Gates’ father, an Air Force pilot, was shot to death by a second wife when the now-politician was just an 18-year-old. As per a Houston Press profile of the politician, Gates and his wife Melissa have two children of their own: Sarah, 17, and Will, 14. But in 1992, after a miscarriage, the couple decided to adopt more children. Cassie, TJ, Andy, Cynthia, George, Marcus, Raquel, Travis, Derodrick, Scott and Alexis are their adoptive children.
Brian Walz, one of Gates’ constituents told the Houston Chronicle, “It really would have been nice to have a state representative helping on the ground, working at a warming center, packing food, etc. rather than immediately (flying) off on a private plane when the going got tough. My neighbors didn’t get to do that when her pipe burst.”
Gates acknowledged the criticism he received but said the decision to leave Texas was based on the needs of his family. He said the pipes at his home had burst and that 30 percent of his home was flooded, leaving his sick wife and special needs daughter at risk. “My wife is still recovering from an illness she has been battling for two weeks, and the room of my adult daughter, who is mentally handicapped and still lives with us, flooded,” Gates said. Following that, he also added that mold had set in. He also said that he had planned to stay with one of his daughters, but she, too, lost power.
“Since arriving in Florida, I have had functioning internet and reliable mobile coverage,” he said. “I have been able to monitor the power restoration process, correspond with constituents and direct the recovery efforts at our apartment complexes.
Earlier, Cruz conceded that his family trip to Cancún was “obviously a mistake,” and said he had begun having “second thoughts” as soon as he boarded the plane to Mexico intent on a few days of remote work in the sun. “The plan had been to stay through the weekend with the family,” he said, framing the decision as a parent’s attempt to placate his two daughters, ages ten and 12, after a “tough week.”