Californians are packing up and moving to Texas in droves. These transplants come for a variety of reasons — lower cost of housing, the lack of a state income tax and the allure of innovative industries from aerospace to technology. They’re also driving up home prices and bringing with them big ideas on regulation, politics and education. How is this all playing out for Texans?
Join The Texas Tribune at noon Central on Friday, Feb. 11, for a provocative conversation, “Californians: Do They Help or Hurt Texas?”
Tribune editor-in-chief Sewell Chan will moderate a conversation with Kenneth P. Miller, Rose professor of state and local government and director of the Rose Institute; Alexandra Suich Bass, senior correspondent for politics, technology and society for The Economist; Ben Rowen, associate editor for Texas Monthly; Jennifer Mercieca, professor of communication at Texas A&M University; and Sergio Garcia-Rios, assistant professor of government and Latino studies at Cornell University; on what the influx of Californians means for Texas’ economy, population and politics.
Register for the conversation here
About Our Speakers
Miller is the Rose professor of state and local government and director of the Rose Institute at Claremont McKenna College. He is the author of “Texas vs. California: A History of Their Struggle for the Future of America,” published in 2020.
Suich Bass is The Economist’s senior correspondent for politics, technology and society, covering a range of political and public policy topics. She is author of a special report that ran in June 2019 arguing that America’s future can be understood by studying California and Texas. Previously, she spearheaded The Economist’s coverage of technology in America for four years from San Francisco.
Rowen is an associate news and politics editor at Texas Monthly. He recently published a story that encouraged Texans to embrace California transplants, called “The Case for More Californians.” Before joining Texas Monthly, Rowen worked as an editor and fact checker at Pacific Standard and The Atlantic.
Mercieca is a professor of communication at Texas A&M University, where she writes about American political discourse, especially as it relates to citizenship, democracy and the presidency. She is the author of “Demagogue for President: The Rhetorical Genius of Donald Trump,” published in 2020.
Garcia-Rios is an assistant professor of government and Latino studies at Cornell University. His research focuses on voter turnout, political participation and public opinion, especially among Latino immigrants.
Chan joined The Texas Tribune as editor-in-chief in October. Previously, he was a deputy managing editor and then the editorial page editor at the Los Angeles Times, where he oversaw coverage that won a Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing in 2021. Chan was a reporter and editor at The New York Times from 2004 to 2018 and began his career at The Washington Post, where he worked from 2000 to 2004.
The conversation will also be available to view on demand after the event at texastribune.org/events.
Tribune events are also supported through contributions from our founding investors and members. Though donors and corporate sponsors underwrite Texas Tribune events, they play no role in determining the content, panelists or line of questioning.
