Sitton for Railroad
When called upon to explain what the Railroad Commission of Texas does, Ryan Sitton usually starts with a joke, he said, because a lot of people still think it has to do with trains. But there’s nothing funny about a name that purposefully diverts attention from the important role the agency plays: regulating oil, gas, mining and pipelines in the state.
“There are about 850 people at the Railroad Commission who do everything from evaluate permits to evaluate how you follow the rules, inspect and enforce if we have problems,” Sitton told the Editorial Board.
As the only engineer on the three-member commission, Sitton, 45, understands the importance that the oil and gas industry plays in Texas, but also the need to hold bad actors accountable and enforce regulations. In his first term, he has found himself on the losing end of around a dozen votes where he believed the commission should have acted more aggressively.
Still, in our discussion with Sitton, it took a lot of jumping through semantic hoops for him to admit problems associated with fracking, wastewater disposal and methane leaks. But in an agency that is regularly accused of being too cozy with industry, his willingness to buck the status quo, even in limited cases, is worth supporting.
“As a state, we need to say that we know that most people in this area operate responsibly, but if you’re going to go outside of that, there’s hell to pay,” he said. He conceded that too often, there isn’t. The challenger, Jim Wright, owns four energy services companies and believes there is a need to restore integrity and trust to the commission. He is a viable conservative voice but offers little to differentiate him from his opponent.
Sitton is our choice for the Texas Railroad Commission in the Republican primary.