As Dallas County awoke to icy snow on Saturday, County Judge Clay Lewis Jenkins shared National Weather Service warnings to his constituents on X about “life threatening cold” and potential for power outages.
By then, Jenkins was much warmer, after he and his family boarded a plane to Costa Rica on Friday before the storm hit back home, according to a photo posted by KDFW-TV (Channel 4) in Dallas.
The county judge is the local government’s head of emergency operations during disasters. Gov. Greg Abbott declared Dallas and 133 other counties under a disaster on Thursday as the storm approached.
The weather conditions Saturday in San José, the capital of Costa Rica: mostly sunny, with a high of 77 degrees.
Political Points
Chief of staff Lauren Trimble said in a statement to The Dallas Morning News Jenkins’ trip “was scheduled months ago,” and he ensured emergency operations and coordination were in place during his travel.
She declined to say when Jenkins, a Democrat, will return or whether he considered canceling his trip as the storm developed. She said the county’s readiness and emergency operations are fully staffed, and Chief of Emergency Services Scott Forster is overseeing the response.
Clay Lewis Jenkins, Dallas County Judge, (center) files for his re-election at the Dallas County Democratic Party Headquarters on Monday, Dec. 1, 2025, in Dallas.
Christine Vo / Staff Photographer
“The county’s full focus is on keeping people safe and services running,” Trimble said. “Dallas County’s experienced teams are ready to respond as conditions change and (Jenkins) will continue to get regular updates.”
In Jenkins’ absence, Trimble said, she is empowered to sign emergency orders, but Abbott’s disaster declaration “makes that unnecessary.”
Jenkins was not the only Texas official to generate attention over out-of-state travel plans as the winter storm approached.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz drew scrutiny after being photographed on a plane to Laguna Beach, California, ahead of the winter storm. His office called it “pre-planned work travel,” and Cruz posted on social media to say he returned on Friday.
Cruz, a Republican, left the state in 2021 during a deadly winter storm to take his family to Cancun, a trip he later called a mistake after intense backlash.