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We’re halfway through the first week of early voting, and there are many statewide races in Texas that appear to be tight contests. Austin state Rep. Vikki Goodwin is running to unseat incumbent Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who’s held the position for more than a decade. We’ll tell you more about that race and the contests for representation in the Texas House and Senate.
We’ve got an update on the bankruptcy case related to Camp Mystic.
An Austin “embarrassment artist” is exploring girlhood, identity and fast food in her new show.
Plus: There are plenty of spooky arts happenings around town as we get closer to All Hallows’ Eve.
The full transcript of this episode of Austin Signal is available on the KUT & KUTX Studio website. The transcript is also available as subtitles or captions on some podcast apps.
Jerry Quijano [00:00:08] We are halfway through the first week of early voting, and there are many statewide races here in Texas that appear to be tight contests. Austin State Rep Vicki Goodwin is running to unseat Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, who’s held the position for more than a decade. We’re gonna tell you more about that race and the contest for representation in the Texas House and the Texas Senate. Plus, we’ve got an update on the bankruptcy case related to Camp Mystic. Plenty more about those stories coming up on today’s show.
KUT Announcer: Laurie Gallardo [00:00:36] The Austin Signal is a production of KUT News, hosted by Jerry Quijano.
Jerry Quijano [00:00:41] An Austin artist, embarrassment artist, is exploring girlhood, identity, and fast food in her new show. We’re gonna hear about it. And there’s plenty of spooky arts happenings around town as we grow closer to All Hallows Eve. Come find out what’s happening. That’s up next. It’s right here on Austin Signal. Howdy out there, you are listening to Austin Signal. I’m your host, Jerry Kehannel. It is Thursday, October 22nd. Thank you for making us part of your day. It’s been more than a year since the tragic flooding that killed more than 100 people in central Texas, including at the all-girls Christian summer camp, Camp Mystic, and in the aftermath, there have been multiple lawsuits and investigations looking into the camp. In June of this year, Camp Mystics filed for bankruptcy. Now, as KUT’s Kaylee Hunt reports, a federal judge has declined to appoint a trustee to oversee Camp Mystic’s bankruptcy case.
Kailey Hunt [00:01:46] The cases creditors committee made up of 13 parents whose children died at the camp during the July, 2025 flooding requested the appointment of a chapter 11 trustee, a government approved independent fiduciary to oversee the case. They cited conflicts of interest created by wrongful death claims against the camp’s current managers, the Eastland family. The committee also accuses the Eastlands of incompetence and gross mismanagement, as well as acrimony toward families of flood victims. The U.S. Trustee, a type of federal official that oversees bankruptcy cases, also requested the appointment of a Chapter 11 trustee for similar reasons. But Judge Christopher Lopez says the Eastlands should have more time to resolve the conflict internally. He said he failed to find enough evidence for the accusations against the Eastland’s, and he says the family can appoint independent fiduciaries to oversee all aspects of the camp’s finances on their own without court action. However, they must do so by October 28th. Otherwise, he will direct the government to appoint one. I’m Kayleigh Hunt in Austin.
Jerry Quijano [00:02:58] A West Austin Democrat is running a low-profile campaign against one of the highest-profiled Republicans on the ballot this election. KUT’s Andrew Weber has more on the race for Texas Lieutenant Governor.
Andrew Weber [00:03:11] Vicki Goodwin wasn’t exactly a household name when the Texas Longhorns kicked off their football season.
Football announcer [00:03:15] Bevo is back and so is college football.
Andrew Weber [00:03:18] During the Longhorns’ first game, Republican Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick came out swinging against his Democratic opponent with an ad blitz that used AI imagery of her calling for more taxes at a UT football game. People took notice.
News Host [00:03:40] This is the video of that AI depiction of Goodwin at a UT football game, her shirt says “taxes” instead of “Texas”.
Andrew Weber [00:03:40] Goodwin filed a complaint in Travis County and…
Vikki Goodwin [00:03:40] Within 24 hours, Dan Patrick’s team pulled them down. So we believe he realized that that goes against state law.
Andrew Weber [00:03:49] Disinformation aside, Goodwin says Patrick’s ad got to her, because as a West Austin Democrat, taxation, particularly property taxes, is one of the few areas where she can see eye-to-eye with Republicans. After the state representative defeated longtime Republican Paul Workman in 2018, she was invited to speak at the Lake Way Men’s Breakfast Club.
Vikki Goodwin [00:04:08] I was told it is mostly Republican men, but there might be a couple of Democrats in the crowd.
Andrew Weber [00:04:14] And what did she talk about with those Republican men from Lakeway?
Vikki Goodwin [00:04:18] Taxes. But they still enjoyed hearing what I had to say. And I can really get in depth on things like property taxes and why they are the way they are, why they’re going up.
Andrew Weber [00:04:28] Goodwin has a real estate brokerage in West Austin. She knows that property taxes have skyrocketed over the last 15 years. She says she’s focused on that, pocketbook issues. She wants to boost school funding at the state level so Texas school districts don’t have to rely as much on taxes. It’s the kind of issue Goodwin says Patrick hasn’t focused on this campaign. Here’s Patrick at a capital press conference in August, talking about his podcast.
Dan Patrick [00:04:53] As of this morning, over 625,000 Texans have viewed the content of that podcast.
Andrew Weber [00:05:03] You might be wondering, what was that podcast about?
Dan Patrick [00:05:06] It’s about the dirty, filthy and vulgar books in our school libraries.
Vikki Goodwin [00:05:12] To me, that’s a distraction. We shouldn’t be talking about banning books. We should be talking about how we can encourage young kids to learn how to read. Our schools are severely underfunded. Well, he doesn’t want to talk about that.
Andrew Weber [00:05:25] Patrick did not respond to an interview request for this story, but the Lieutenant Governor has been hitting Goodwin hard in the lead up to this election, even though he’s the incumbent with way more name recognition. That’s because this election is different, says UT pollster Jim Henson.
Jim Henson [00:05:40] This is a unprecedented level of competition, certainly the most competitive election I’ve seen since I’ve been doing this for over two decades.
Andrew Weber [00:05:48] So, what makes it different? Well, there’s James Tallarico. The Austin Democratic State Representative has ginned up a lot of enthusiasm in his race against Republican Ken Paxton for the open U.S. Senate seat. That’s trickle-down ballot, and this is arguably the closest competition Patrick’s had in his entire political career. Goodwin and Patrick are neck and neck in the most recent polling done by Henson’s Texas politics project. That’s despite the fact that, historically, the Lieutenant Governor’s race is in top of mind for a lot Texans, Henson says.
Jim Henson [00:06:17] I think it’s fair to say the lieutenant governor’s office is the most powerful office that most people don’t think about very much in Texas.
Andrew Weber [00:06:24] But it’s an incredibly powerful position at the Capitol, and Patrick regularly uses that bully pulpit, flexing that muscle in his campaign ads, touting his push in the Senate for property tax cuts, his effort to remove certain books from public schools, and his ban of certain THC products. That was the subject of another press conference last year.
Dan Patrick [00:06:44] This is serious business. This is not Dan’s folly. This is Dan’s priority. This is to save an entire generation of being hooked on drugs. And I need for you all to take the story seriously.
Andrew Weber [00:06:56] And that’s an issue Goodwin has seized on. The fact that Patrick’s Senate passed a bill banning certain kinds of cannabinoids only for it to be vetoed by the Republican governor, only for the state to ban THC products through administrative means later. Goodwin says that ban started with Patrick. And she says many Texans, even ones in his own party, don’t agree with banning THC.
Vikki Goodwin [00:07:18] A lot of people are really angry at what happened, and it is an opportunity. I believe that we should do what the majority of Texans want us to do. As a representative government, we are supposed to be doing what the majority wants.
Andrew Weber [00:07:31] And Henson, the pollster, says that’s been good for her campaign. But it’s also, like he said, an unprecedented election season. Mostly, he argues, because, well, Republicans are an easy target. President Donald Trump’s approval ratings are at historic lows. And the party in power tends to lose midterm elections. And statewide, Henson says, Texas Republicans aren’t exactly psyched about their slate of candidates.
Jim Henson [00:07:54] Democrats have a lot of wind in their sails. Republicans are seeing a lot resistance. It’s a very unusually, if not historically tough environment for Republican incumbents and Republican candidates this cycle.
Andrew Weber [00:08:08] And that wind, or discontent, depending on how you look at it, could put Goodwin on a path to what could be the closest contest for the Republican-dominated lieutenant governor’s office in recent memory. I’m Andrew Weber in Austin.
Jerry Quijano [00:08:30] Well, during this election season, a lot of focus has been on the national congressional seats that are coming from Texas. But as we just heard from Andrew there, there’s also a lot of focus on the statewide races, as well as races for both the Texas House and the Texas Senate. Here to talk with us more about those races, we have KUT’s Kaylee Hunt and Gabriel Velasquez-Neda. Welcome to the show, y’all.
Kailey Hunt [00:08:51] Thanks for having me.
Gabriel Velasquez-Neira [00:08:52] Thank you, Jerry.
Jerry Quijano [00:08:53] Kaylee, I want to start with you. You have been covering the Texas senate district five race. Can you just first off to tell us what part of town, what part is central Texas that covers?
Kailey Hunt [00:09:03] Sure, yeah. So Texas Senate District 5 is home to just over a million people and it stretches across 11 counties, all the way from Bastrop and Williamson counties, which is right here near Austin, to Brazos County and College Station.
Jerry Quijano [00:09:18] Okay, pretty good swath there of Texas. Does that Senate seat already currently have an incumbent?
Kailey Hunt [00:09:24] It does, yes. Yeah, the seat’s been held for over a decade now by Republican Charles Schwertner. He’s an orthopedic surgeon from Georgetown. He’s been representing the district since 2013. And this election cycle, he’s drawn a challenge from Democrat Paul He’s a retired pastor from College Station.
Jerry Quijano [00:09:45] Okay, so we know a little bit about Schwertner, but I wanna ask more. What is the platform that he is currently running on?
Kailey Hunt [00:09:52] Yeah. So, you know, when I was looking at this race, obviously there’s lots going on in Texas politics nowadays, but much of the specific region with Texas State District Senate Five has to do with its economic growth. And a lot of that has come in the form of data centers, which are super controversial, as you know. And so, yeah, there’s a lot of. Focus right now from Schwartner and his opponent, Thomason, on data center developments. Thomason is campaigning on no more data centers, whether or not that’s, you know, possible right now, just given the current regulatory environment is a question there. But yeah, he would do away with these developments if given the opportunity. Shortner, he’s the chairman of the Senate Business and Commerce Committee. And so he told me that he welcomes responsible economic growth, but did acknowledge that the rapid growth of data centers has put new demands on our power grid, water sources, and taxpayers. So he says he would like to pass some more legislation if reelected this upcoming election.
Jerry Quijano [00:11:05] As we just heard from Andrew talking about the Lieutenant Governor race, some positions and some seats in Texas have been strongholds for Republicans for many years, for many decades. Shortner, you said, has represented the seat for at least a decade. Is there an edge for either of these candidates in this Senate seat?
Kailey Hunt [00:11:21] Yeah, I would say so. District 5 has historically been solidly Republican. In 2024, Trump won the district by nearly 28 points. So yeah, I think Schwertner is a long-time Republican incumbent, has the advantage here. However, I don’t think we should count out the disapproval of folks looking to get more politically involved as a result of data centers.
Jerry Quijano [00:11:43] Okay, Gabriel, I’m gonna turn to you now. You are following Texas House race. So the other side of Texas legislators, the one we’re talking about today is district 49. What part of Austin does that cover?
Gabriel Velasquez-Neira [00:11:54] Yeah, so honestly, it’s drawn up a little weird, but it’s central Texas, sorry, central Austin, so in between Mopac and I-35, and it stretches north as Anderson and Research Boulevard to pretty far south.
Jerry Quijano [00:12:10] Okay, a pretty good chunk of the central city there. Does this district currently have an incumbent?
Gabriel Velasquez-Neira [00:12:16] Actually, the person that currently holds a seat is Gina Hinojosa and she vacated it to run against Greg Abbott. So it’s two brand new candidates that we have, Monserrat Garire and Arshia Papari.
Jerry Quijano [00:12:28] Okay, let’s start with the latter candidate that you just mentioned there. Tell us a little bit about their platform.
Gabriel Velasquez-Neira [00:12:34] So, Monserrat has been in education for about 20 years. She has worked for the Department of Education and currently she’s focusing on, I guess, getting legislation, or if she gets elected, I’m getting legislation to better fund public schools. And that’s one of her main focuses.
Jerry Quijano [00:12:53] What about her opponent? What are they running on?
Gabriel Velasquez-Neira [00:12:55] Arshia is a 22 year old senior undergraduate at the University of Texas at Austin and he is currently running for more student rights and freezing rents in Austin.
Jerry Quijano [00:13:09] Does it look like there is an edge amongst these candidates right now who are vying for the seat?
Gabriel Velasquez-Neira [00:13:15] Yeah, it doesn’t look close, honestly. Monserrat has raised about 525,000 last time I checked compared to, or she is 4,300. So I think it’s kind of a runaway.
Jerry Quijano [00:13:28] And you mentioned that this seat was held by a Democrat prior to this?
Gabriel Velasquez-Neira [00:13:31] It’s a democratic stronghold, so yeah, Gina Hinojosa is currently the elected representative.
Jerry Quijano [00:13:38] All right, that is KUT’s Gabriel Velasquez-Neda and Kaylee Hunt, so we’re gonna have a link to their stories on these races in today’s podcast, Show Notes. Gabriel, Kaylee, thank you for your time. Thank you. All right thank you, Jay. And thank you out there for making Austin Signal part of your day. It has been a very, very busy start to the early voting season here in Austin. Specifically in Travis County, there have been more than 130,000 ballots cast. Sets. About a pace of more than 40,000 people each day. And we have been seeing wait times here in Travis County exceeding 21, even 51 minutes sometimes. So make a plan to vote. You can check out those wait times for yourself at votetravis.gov. We have more Austin Signal coming up for you. That’s after this quick break. This is Austin Signal. Welcome back to the show. This week in 1971, a Texas blues legend took the stage two nights in a row at an iconic Austin music venue. Jason Mellard with the Center for Texas Music History at Texas State University brings us the story of Lightnin’ Hopkins electrifying performances at the Armadillo World Headquarters. Thanks for watching. We’ll see you next time.
Jason Mellard [00:14:57] This week in Texas music history, Lightning strikes twice at the Armadillo. Lightning Hopkins, guitarist, vocalist, and arguably Texas’ greatest blues performer, took the stage in Austin at the armadillo world headquarters for two nights, October 22nd and 23rd, 1971. Hopkins was born in the early 19-teens in Centerville and grew up there and in the East Texas communities of Leona and Crockett. By his own account, he was encouraged by the legendary Blind Lemon Jefferson while playing guitar at the age of eight. At a Baptist gathering in Buffalo, Texas, and by the age of 10 was performing alongside another blues pioneer, Texas Alexander. He recorded for dozens of labels in the early post-war era, including Aladdin and Prestige, and by 1950s made Houston his home.
Music [00:15:47] Come on, babe Whoa, come on, baby, let’s shake this thing
Jason Mellard [00:15:58] Hopkins’ visit to the Armadillo was not his first performance for Austin Rock audiences. He played Austin’s psychedelic ballroom, the Vulcan Gas Company, in December 1967 and again in February 1968, and made his first trip to the armadillo in November 1970, taking the stage just one week after fellow Houstonian ZZ Top made an early Austin appearance. This October 1971 weekend stand included the then up-and-coming Taj Mahal on Friday night, while the local ensemble Greasy Wheels supported Hopkins on Saturday. Artist Jim Franklin’s poster advertised the concert with his trademark visual shorthand for the artists. With the requisite armadillo frolicking around India’s Taj Mahall, its snout pointed skyward, conducting a strike of lightning. Indeed, lightning struck Austin on the October weekend in 1971.
Jerry Quijano [00:17:15] That was Jason Mellard with the Center for Texas Music History at Texas State University. Well, toilet humor is probably not the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about girlhood. Probably. Well, an Austin artist combines the two in a one-person show called Girl, Girl, Girls. KUT’s Caroline McConnico went to see the performance last week with her mother. She doesn’t exactly recommend doing that.
Caroline McConico [00:17:44] It all starts in a McDonald’s bathroom. A troubling incident with a toilet occurs. Then something unexpected emerges. A girl.
Speaker [00:17:58] Now, girl. Girl is here.
Caroline McConico [00:17:59] And so begins Girl Girl Girl, the newest creation from Andy Flores, who calls herself an embarrassment artist. She wanted the show to explore girlhood, identity, and fast food.
Speaker [00:18:12] Would you like fries with that? Would you, like fries, with that would you like?
Caroline McConico [00:18:18] The main character in the show is girl. She enters the world without a mother figure. Flores uses her unconventional birth to show just how weird being a woman is.
Andy Flores [00:18:29] She’s a girl who is born from a poop and that feels like a stupid enough framework for me to have some really interesting conversations through the story.
Caroline McConico [00:18:42] The audience at Stage Austin giggles as girl rolls around in the dark theater. She is surrounded by fake french fries and toilet paper. She’s learning to walk. Flores wears a nude bodysuit covered in metallic droppings. She has an elongated nose and clown-like makeup. An unruly black wig is perched on her head. Flores got the idea for the show after spending time with her baby cousin. She worries about saying the wrong thing around her. She wanted to show audiences what it feels like to figure out who you are by constantly falling down.
Andy Flores [00:19:16] And this is the first time where I wanted to have a character that is, you know, not trying to represent directly so much of what’s going on in my intimate life.
Caroline McConico [00:19:28] In the show, Girl begins navigating
Caroline McConico [00:19:30] her unfamiliar surroundings. She meets a character called the mansplainer. He represents the unsolicited advice and authority women face.
Mansplainer [00:19:39] I’ll teach you everything, everything I know about girl. Girlness. Girlina vibes. Don’t you want girlina vibes?
Caroline McConico [00:19:49] Flores wanted both characters to be relatable.
Andy Flores [00:19:51] And I do hope that there is some strength that the audience walks away from the show with and maybe some acceptance. And they should also expect a lot of poop jokes.
Caroline McConico [00:20:04] Girl Girl runs through Saturday at Stage Austin. My recommendation? Maybe don’t bring your mom. For KUT’s Art Beat, I’m Caroline McConico in Austin.
Jerry Quijano [00:20:29] Alrighty, it’s Thursday, the weekend is almost here, and here to tell us more is KUT’s art beat editor, Stephanie Federico, giving us a look at some of the experiences happening around the city. Hello Stephanie, welcome back.
Stephanie Federico [00:20:41] Hey Jerry, nice to be here.
Jerry Quijano [00:20:42] It’s great to have you in the studio. For the listeners at home, we’re putting mood lighting in when we do the Artbeats segment, so it’s quickly becoming one of my favorite chances to talk with you. And we are approaching All Hallows Eve, so we have a sorta little special Artbeat section that we’re talking about today. So let’s jump right in. Tell me a little bit about horror de cámara.
Stephanie Federico [00:21:05] Yeah, that means chamber horror. It’s happening over at the KMFA’s Dralyn Mason Studio. It is this Golden Hornet MXTX cross-border series, which pairs Mexican and Texas artists together. And there’ll be music there from three composers, Jimena Contreras, Felipe Perez Santiago, and Graham Reynolds. And the music draws from Mexican folk monsters, the And that’s on Friday. It starts at 630 and then there’s a discussion afterwards with the composers should be cool
Jerry Quijano [00:21:40] Yeah it should be cool and we have lots of things in this list that are happening this weekend only or next weekend only but luckily the next thing we’re going to talk about, it starts tomorrow but it’s going to last a few more weeks after that, it’s a new art exhibition. Who is it by and what’s it about?
Stephanie Federico [00:21:55] Yeah, it’s over at Dorff. The opening reception is tomorrow night, right? It goes through January, as you said. It’s a solo exhibit by an Austin artist named Guadalupe Najar, who is now actually based in Smithville, but grew up in East Austin. And it’s called Buried in the Yard. And in it, she reimagines the yards of her childhood home in East Boston. And she saw as it gentrified over the years and how the neighborhood changed. And she works with some unconventional material, some found objects. Ceramics, painting, and some landscaping materials to create these yards, and imagines the toolsheds and the gardens of immigrants and working class families and how it has changed over the years. And one thing from the website that I’d like to share is it says, Najar considers what is lost when the places that hold family histories disappear and how memory can persist in the bodies, objects, stories, and fantasies of those who remain. So it sounds.
Jerry Quijano [00:22:55] Yeah, it sounds a little painful, but a little beautiful as well. Okay, not tomorrow, because today is Thursday. Saturday, there is one of the city’s favorite events happening. It’s also one of your favorites, and that is…
Stephanie Federico [00:23:08] I love it. Mexicartas Viva la Vida festival and parade. It’s the 43rd annual parade this year. And if you haven’t been, I highly recommend it. It is part of the Dia de los Muertos celebration, the Day of the Dead. And it blends indigenous and Catholic religious beliefs and cultural rituals to honor the dead. And there will be a parade, there will some music, there’s going to be a lowrider exhibition, some local artists, some vendors, and food. Did I say food?
Jerry Quijano [00:23:37] You didn’t, you did, but that is an important part of any celebration.
Stephanie Federico [00:23:41] And the parade begins at noon and then activity is run through six o’clock and just a little
Jerry Quijano [00:23:48] The parade’s a little special to you this year, huh?
Stephanie Federico [00:23:50] It’s a little special to me because I really love this parade. But there is an artist who’s known as Wolfbat, who he’s based in Virginia right now, but he came to Mexicarta this week and he has a little residency here. And he had a mask making workshop. He makes these really cool, big paper mache masks that he covers with like these bold mythological prints and… His work has been featured in the parade before, but he was here and he ran this workshop as free mask making workshop. So I went to it and in exchange for some lessons in making this mask, I have to be in the parades. So you will see me even though you won’t see me because I will be under a mask.
Jerry Quijano [00:24:35] Alright, cool. Well, we look forward to not seeing you out there in the downtown. Tell us about your last event. It’s got some rhythm to it.
Stephanie Federico [00:24:43] Yeah. This is also Halloween adjacent. It’s called Undead, Haunted House of Dances. And this is running through next Saturday, Halloween, at Eastside Performing Arts. And this is a dance performance for adults only. Apparently it’s immersive Halloween show presented by Ventana Ballet, this contemporary dance. It is going to feature some local professional theater and dance artists. Kind of a modern retelling of Dracula. Featuring some classic Halloween horror and zombies, but also apparently some comedy. So it should be funny, but also weird. I don’t know. It looks cool.
Jerry Quijano [00:25:22] Funny and weird, that’s enough of a reason for you to go check it out. For sure. Lots of stuff happening this weekend and next, so keep an eye out and an ear out for what’s going on around you. That is the Artbeat Editor here at KUT, Stephanie Federico. Stephanie, thank you a ton. Thanks Jerry. And thank you out there for making Austin Signal part of your day. There’s more from our show at Kut.org slash Signal. The Signal team is Karoline Pfeil, Alexandra Hart, Kristen Cabrera. And I’m your host, Jerry Quijano. We’ll be back at the same time tomorrow. Talk to you then.
This transcript was transcribed by AI, and lightly edited by a human. Accuracy may vary. This text may be revised in the future.
