Castañeda’s skills right for Railroad Commission
Of all the candidates we have met with over Zoom this election season, Chrysta Castañeda is one of the brightest stars in the political sky.
The Democrat running for Texas Railroad Commissioner has the expertise in the oil and gas industry this position demands and deserves, along with the communication skills to explain complex issues in relatable and digestible ways. She would serve the public as an excellent industry watchdog, but also as an industry explainer. The Railroad Commission of Texas, which has nothing to do with railroads and would benefit from a name change, greatly needs such a dynamic presence. Castañeda is an engineer and attorney who specializes in the oil and gas industry. She has represented T. Boone Pickens, securing a $145 million verdict over contract breaches in 2017, and she speaks with passion and conviction about innovation and regulatory changes that would serve Texas and the industry. We especially like her idea of incentivizing operators to convert flared gas — a source of carbon dioxide — into electricity at well sites. On the issue of venting methane, which is 25 times more potent as a heat-trapping gas than carbon dioxide, she would advocate for leak detention and greater enforcement.
Castañeda spoke to us at length about fracking technology, water reclamation, plugging abandoned wells and updating the Railroad Commissions name so more Texans understand the agency’s work. She studied engineering at Kansas State University before attending law school at Southern Methodist University.
Castañeda faces Republican Jim Wright, who defeated Commissioner Ryan Sitton in the primary. Our efforts to speak with Wright have been unsuccessful. But a company he founded, DeWitt Recyclable Products, which is supposed to handle oil field waste, was fined $181,000 in 2017 by the Railroad Commission for environmental violations, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Wright has said he did not have ownership or operational control of the company at that time — he sold it in 2014 but was listed as president of the company on paper. After taking control of the company, he settled with the Railroad Commission, admitting no personal liability, the Chronicle reported.
It would be a mistake to view this race through a partisan lens. Far better is to consider expertise, which Castañeda has in abundance. We recommend Chrysta Castañeda for the Texas Railroad Commission.