With the official convening of the 89th Texas Legislature, Dustin Burrows was elected the 77th speaker of the House. Speaker Burrows has served as a state representative from Lubbock since 2014. Before his appointment, he served as chair of the House Calendars Committee in the 87th and 88th Legislatures and the Ways and Means Committee in the 86th. He succeeded Beaumont’s Dade Phelan in the role. As speaker, Burrows will be supported by an able executive team as he becomes the presiding officer of the House of Representatives. In this capacity, his duties will include maintaining order during debates, recognizing legislators who wish to speak, managing committees and their appointments and enforcing the rules of the House. |
Robert Duncan was selected to serve as Burrows’ chief of staff. Duncan is the former Texas Tech University System chancellor, a position he held from 2014 to 2018. He also served as a Texas senator from 1996 to 2018 and in the House from 1992 to 1996. Duncan presently works as a partner in a Lubbock-based firm. |
Zak Covar has stepped into the role of deputy chief of staff. Covar left his most recent position as president and CEO of a trade association to take on his new responsibilities. In previous public sector capacities, he was executive director and commissioner of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) from 2012 to 2015. He has also served as a policy adviser in the Office of the Governor and as a chief of staff in the Texas House. Covar earned a Bachelor of Science from Texas A&M University (TAMU). |
Sydney Watts will stay on as director of administration for Speaker Burrows. She has been serving in this capacity since 2021, building on a decade spent working in the Texas House of Representatives. Prior to her roles held across two speakers’ executive teams, she served as coordinator of correspondence and administration to former Speaker Dennis Bonnen for two years and as legislative director for almost four years. Watts holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Texas State University in San Marcos. |
Andrew Blifford will retain his role as director of finance for the speaker of the House. He has served in that role since 2019. Blifford has an extensive history working for several speakers, previously serving as director of budget and policy and senior budget adviser for the Texas Legislative Budget Board. He began his career in the public sector in 2002 as chief of staff to a state representative. Blifford earned a Bachelor of Arts in History from Southwestern University. |
Jimmy Skipton will retain his role as general counsel and will take on new responsibilities as the policy director for Speaker Burrows. Skipton has been a part of the executive team of the speaker of the House since 2021, starting as a policy adviser for the Ways and Means Committee. Other roles held in the House include policy director for the Ways and Means Committee and legislative director for a representative. Skipton holds a law degree from The University of Texas School of Law and a Bachelor of Science in Management, Finance and Legal Studies from Tulane University. He is a licensed attorney. |
Tracy King has been appointed senior adviser. King came out of retirement to accept the position after stepping down as a state representative in 2023. He was first elected in 1994, serving 15 terms in the House. He also served as chair of the House Natural Resources Committee and the Agriculture and Livestock Committee. King brings more than three decades of leadership and legislative experience to the role. |
Paige Holzheauser will serve as director of the Office of the Speaker. Holzheauser has worked alongside Speaker Burrows since 2019, most recently as chief of staff and committee clerk for the House Calendars and Ways and Means Committees. She has worked in the House since 2015, initially starting as a legislative aide. She graduated from the University of North Texas with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. |
Cait Wittman will stay on as director of communications, a role she has held since 2019. Prior to joining the speaker of the House’s team, Wittman served as vice president of government relations for a consulting firm for nearly three years. She also served as deputy press secretary for the Office of the Governor from 2015 to 2016. |
Sallie Bentley will also continue in her role as senior budget adviser, a role held since 2022. In addition, Bentley has accepted a role as policy adviser for Ways and Means. She brings more than 15 years of management and finance experience to the position. In her public sector career, Bentley has served as a legislative director, legislative and policy coordinator, assistant director of finance and budget adviser for multiple offices and representatives. |
