A former aid in Representative Tony Gonzalez’ (Family Values-Texas) office claims Gonzales engaged in a romantic relationship with an aide who died last year by setting herself on fire outside her Uvalde home, according to a text message and people close to the aide and her family.
The aid, who wishes to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation, said Gonzalez and Regina Ann “Regi” Santos-Aviles had an affair in 2024, and that she spiraled into a depression after her husband discovered the relationship and Gonzales abruptly cut her off.
Santos-Aviles, 35, was Gonzales’ regional district director in Uvalde and the mother of an 8-year-old boy. She died Sept. 14, 2025. The unnamed, former staffer contemplated going public about the affair as early as November, but was afraid he would lose his job, he said.
He said this week that he stopped coming to work for months after Santos-Aviles’ suicide and felt he could no longer “sell (Gonzales’) message and his ideals.” He resigned last month, moved to Los Angeles and now works for two local Democratic campaigns.
He said he had not been paid or promised any compensation by any of Gonzales’ primary opponents.
In a statement Wednesday, Gonzales said:
Ms. Santos-Aviles was a kind soul who devoted her life to making the community a better place. Her efforts led to improvements in school safety, healthcare, and rural water like never before. It’s shameful that Brandon Herrera is using a disgruntled former staffer to smear her memory and score political points, conveniently pushing this out the very day early voting started. I am not going to engage in these personal smears and instead will remain focused on helping President Trump secure the border and improve the lives of all Texans.