State Government – Railroad Commissioner

Job description	One of a three-person commission that oversees the Railroad Commission, a Texas state agency. Term is six years.
Duties	Regulates the oil and natural gas industry, pipelines, gas utilities, and coal and uranium surface mining. Responsible for enforcing federal laws related to these industries. Note: although it was originally created to do so, the Commission is not responsible for regulating railroads.
Annual salary	$137,500

Candidate Q&A

Chrysta Castañeda Website: https://chrystafortexas.com Email: info@chrystafortexas.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChrystaForTexas/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChrystaforTexas	Democrat
James “Jim” Wright Website: http://wrightfortexas.com Email: info@wrightfortexas.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JimWrightForTexas/	Republican

Recent News Articles

• “Lame-duck Railroad Commissioner Ryan Sitton is U.S. face in global oil battle,” Houston Chronicle (Apr 6, 2020) https://www.chron.com/business/energy/article/A-Lame-Duck-Regulator-Who-Became-the-Face-of-15182593.php
• “Who pays attention to the Railroad Commission? Republican upstart shocks in Tuesday primary,” Dallas Morning News (Mar 6, 2020) https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2020/03/04/who-pays-attention-to-the-railroad-commission-republican-upstart-shocks-in-tuesday-primary/
• “Anatomy of an Upset: Jim Wright on His Shocking Victory Over Ryan Sitton for Texas Railroad Commissioner,” The Texan (Mar 5, 2020) https://thetexan.news/anatomy-of-an-upset-jim-wright-on-his-shocking-victory-over-ryan-sitton-for-texas-railroad-commissioner/
• “‘It’s a joke’: Flaring expert finds big problems in report from Texas oil and gas regulator,” Texas Tribune (Feb 24, 2020) https://www.texastribune.org/2020/02/25/expert-finds-problems-report-texas-oil-and-gas-regulator/
• “Railroad Commissioner to list best, worst gas companies flaring natural gas,” Chron.com (Feb 18, 2020) https://www.chron.com/business/energy/article/Railroad-Commissioner-to-list-best-worst-oil-15064833.php
• “Meet the Democrats in race for a position on the Texas Railroad Commission,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Feb 13, 2020) https://www.star-telegram.com/news/politics-government/article239841293.html (paywall – article limit)
• “Permian’s Gas-Burning ‘Black Eye’ is 30% Worse Than Thought,” Bloomberg.com (Feb 11, 2020) https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-11/permian-s-gas-burning-black-eye-is-30-worse-than-thought
• “Texas regulator readies first flaring report amid backlash,” Bloomberg.com (Feb 6, 2020) https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-06/gas-flaring-backlash-has-texas-regulator-readying-first-report (paywall)
• “This year’s other big climate election?” Bloomberg  (Jan 27, 2020) https://www.bloomberg.com/amp/news/articles/2020-01-27/this-year-s-other-big-climate-election-it-s-for-texas-railroad-bureaucrat?fbclid=IwAR0h-n8J_MZTsdMS10KyctWvjqFOrKNDph38qMAn4TLmbS83-GwcVrkB6X4