Where candidates for Texas railroad commissioner stand on energy and the power grid
Wayne Christian
Political party: Republican
Age as of November 8, 2022: 72
Campaign website: ChristianForTexas.com
Occupation: Financial Planner
Education: Bachelors Degree
Have you run for elected office before? (Please list previous offices sought)
Currently - Railroad Commissioner, Previously - State Representative
Please list highlights of your civic involvement:
Chairman - Railroad Commission of Texas
Appointee - Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission
Former State Representative
President, Texas Conservative Coalition (while a state rep)
Christian Life and Ethics Director - Shelby-’Doches Baptist Association (current)
Served as a member of the Texas Baptist Men’s Laity Board and as a board member of the
Shelby County Senior Citizen Corporation of Texas.
Who are your top three campaign contributors?
2022 Election Cycle: Javaid Anwar, NGL Water Solutions, Texas Oil and Gas Association PAC
What is the most important distinction between you and your opponent(s)?
On the campaign trail, Texans are concerned about energy security, rising inflation and the unstable economy. They understand the important role domestic oil and gas production plays in lowering the cost of energy and in making over 6,000 consumer products we use every day. They want a conservative Railroad Commission that cuts red tape and fights back against Biden Administration overreach. My opponent would be a rubber stamp for Biden’s anti-oil and gas agenda.
What are the three biggest issues in this race?
The three biggest challenges I am currently working on to ensure the energy sector continues to thrive in Texas:
1) Fighting back against federal overreach
2) Modernizing the agency to increase efficiencies, speed up permitting, and decrease costs
3) Continue to work with operators to identify regulatory issues and red tape to cut to create new jobs and economic growth for our state
What does the state need to do to promote more electricity generation and what role can the Railroad Commission play?
As Texas adds 1,000 new residents a day, the long-term solution to meeting our state’s energy needs must include building more reliable and affordable natural gas-fired electric generation. Our current facilities are prepared for the next weather emergency, but we must make sure there are enough of them to meet the energy demands of our growing state. Right now companies are reluctant to invest in expanding this infrastructure because of regulatory uncertainty from the Biden Administration, the woke ESG movement withholding financing on Wall Street, and the unfair market dynamics due to the massive subsidies received by wind and solar. We must eliminate all preferential treatment and let all forms of energy compete in the free market. As Commissioner, I have been a fierce advocate for this both to the general public and our elected officials in Austin and Washington D.C.
Is there anything the Railroad Commission can do to help Texans with the cost of gas? What would you propose as commissioner?
My priority as Railroad Commissioner is to make certain that Texans have access to cheap, plentiful, and reliable energy both for today and in the future. I support supporting our domestic oil and gas businesses to ensure they are able to increase production and drive down the cost of gasoline.
Should the Railroad Commission’s name be changed to better reflect its responsibilities. If so, what name would you propose?
The name requires legislative and voter approval to change.
Should Texas be investing more in alternative energy sources? How do you balance Texas’ energy portfolio and what’s your ideal composition?
The types of energy we use should be determined by the free market not punitive government actions or subsidies. When we needed electricity the most, our unreliable electricity sources (wind/solar) provided almost nothing, and our underfunded reliable electricity sources (natural gas) were overstrained. The solution is to end all preferential treatment for unreliable electricity.
Should fracking be banned in Texas?
No.
What’s something most voters probably don’t know about the Railroad Commission you think they should?
For every $1 appropriated to the Railroad Commission from the legislature, the industry generates over $50 in revenue for the state! Not a bad return on investment!
As railroad commissioner, how would you promote transparency in the Railroad Commission of Texas?
Even if someone disagrees with my philosophy and positions on policies on oil and gas issues, I have been open, transparent, and consistent about my beliefs from day one. My opponent is trying to have it both ways, claiming to support oil and gas along side the radical Green New Deal policies that would destroy oil and gas.
Luke Warford
Political party: Democratic
Age as of November 8, 2022: 33
Campaign website: www.lukewarford.com
Occupation: Executive
Education: Bachelor’s degree in international relations, the University of Delaware Master’s degree in development management, the London School of Economics
Have you run for elected office before? (Please list previous offices sought)
No
Please list highlights of your civic involvement:
As a full-time candidate for a critically important but often underappreciated office and the youngest Democratic nominee for statewide office in over 30 years, I have focused my campaign on engaging with and educating a new electorate. I am proud of the innovative work we have done to work with younger voters and educate the broader electorate about the importance of the Railroad Commission.
Who are your top three campaign contributors?
Jay Wilbur, Loretta Shumway, Jane Watkins
What is the most important distinction between you and your opponent(s)?
There could not be a larger contrast between my opponent and me. My opponent is a corrupt career politician who refuses to prioritize Texans over his oil and gas executive campaign donors. He has been in office since I was 8 years old, refusing to enforce existing legislation meant to keep Texans safe and hurting the reputation of Texas energy in the process. I bring a new perspective with an understanding of both where Texas’ energy economy has come from and where it is going. I have a clear vision to maintain Texas energy leadership in a rapidly changing market, reduce emissions by millions of tons, and create transparency at one of the shadiest offices in the state.
What are the three biggest issues in this race?
1. Securing the grid by implementing and enforcing a clear weatherization standards
2. Reducing emissions by millions of tons by limiting flaring exemptions, capping orphan wells, and identifying and preventing methane leaks.
3. Expanding Texas energy leadership to ensure that Texas has an abundance of well-paying energy jobs and Texans have access to reliable, affordable energy.
What does the state need to do to promote more electricity generation and what role can the Railroad Commission play?
While the Railroad Commission does not directly oversee the state’s electricity grid, it needs to take a more assertive role in improving overall energy reliability. To date, the Railroad Commission has ignored warnings about Texas’ lack of preparedness for extreme weather events, bailed out massive oil & gas companies after winter storm Uri and passed the costs onto everyday Texans, and now it’s taking up an inadequate weatherization standard that Texans should have no trust it will enforce. Texans should not have to live in fear that their power will go out the next time it gets cold. I will establish a clear, substantive, and enforceable weatherization standard, identify critical gas producers, and ensure preparations for the next major storm are actually completed.
Is there anything the Railroad Commission can do to help Texans with the cost of gas? What would you propose as commissioner?
The Railroad Commission can keep gas prices down in the long run by ensuring that we maintain Texas energy leadership as the industry shifts and foreign buyers become willing to pay a premium for clean, low-emission fuel. The Commission also has the ability to lower energy costs by establishing clear standards and holding bad actors accountable. Instead, they are doing the exact opposite— Wayne Christian ignored warnings about Texas’ lack of preparedness for extreme weather events, bailed out massive oil & gas companies after winter storm Uri, and passed the costs onto everyday Texans.
Should the Railroad Commission’s name be changed to better reflect its responsibilities. If so, what name would you propose?
Absolutely. The current commissioners benefit from operating in the shadows, and the misnaming of the agency is one way of avoiding accountability. While hiding behind its deliberately misleading name, the Commission grants thousands of harmful flaring exemptions every year, the majority on the consent agenda without public comment or transparency. While I’m open to any name that accurately describes the role of the Railroad Commission, I think the Texas Energy Commission or Texas Oil and Gas Commission makes sense as alternate names.
Should Texas be investing more in alternative energy sources? How do you balance Texas’ energy portfolio and what’s your ideal composition?
Yes. If Texas wants to maintain and expand its energy leadership, it cannot do so with commissioners like Wayne Christian who are convinced that it is still 1980. I support an “all of the above” plan that works to make oil & gas cleaner and safer while putting Texas in a position to lead in the energy economy of the future. Texas is well-positioned to expand wind & solar and drive innovation in emerging technologies including geothermal, hydrogen, and carbon capture, but we need Commissioners who acknowledge the world is changing and understand where our economy is going.
Should fracking be banned in Texas?
No. Fracking is a major innovation that helped expand Texas energy leadership during a time when the world needs Texas oil and gas more than ever before. So long as fracking continues in Texas, the Railroad Commission should be working to mitigate the negative impacts of fracking and effectively balancing concerns around groundwater contamination, seismicity, and other risks.
What’s something most voters probably don’t know about the Railroad Commission you think they should?
A single Railroad Commissioner has immense power, even if they are in the political minority. As the lone Democrat on the Commission, I will bring balance and transparency by reducing the number of items that are approved on the consent agenda. This will force public debate, encourage testimony from affected communities, and prevent many of these harmful actions from taking place. I will also use the power of my staff to investigate orphan wells, pipeline leaks, and potentially illegal price gouging during the winter storm.
As railroad commissioner, how would you promote transparency in the Railroad Commission of Texas?
Lack of transparency is one of the biggest issues with the Railroad Commission, and it is a deliberate attempt by the Commissioners to hide the harmful decisions they are making. Much of the Railroad Commission’s most destructive work comes through its consent agenda and/or 10-minute meetings without public input. I would work to end both of these practices, emphasizing public communication in order to increase transparency and public awareness of the Railroad Commission. I would also use my platform to support the legislature renaming the Railroad Commission to something that actually describes the commission’s work.
