The office is open: Craig Goldman heads to Washington as Fort Worth’s new congressman | Opinion
U.S. Rep. Craig Goldman started in the mailroom, sorting letters sent 35 years ago from Texas to then-new U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm.
Now, Goldman is back in Washington as Fort Worth’s newest congressman, only the fourth to represent Texas’ legendary 12th Congressional District in 70 years.
First things first: The office is open.
As of Jan. 3, District 12 has a vote and a voice in Washington.
Congresswoman Kay Granger had come home unannounced months ago to a Fort Worth apartment due to memory difficulties. She missed key late votes and left herself open to one last stink storm of a smear campaign, both by old Republican archenemies and also by Democrats mocking her in comparison to President Joe Biden.
Goldman said he talked with Granger only four times over his entire yearlong campaign. But he talked about her “wonderful legacy” and repeated investor Ross Perot Jr.’s description of her as a “living legend.”
Now, he said, “what I know is that I’ll be there representing District 12 on Jan. 3.”
He literally has to start from scratch. But so does any new member of Congress.
Moving day includes the keys to office No. 1716 in the Longworth House Office Building. Then comes the furniture moving, hanging of artwork and mementos and generally dressing the office before Texans arrive for the Jan. 20 presidential inauguration.
That’s also one of the first jobs. Congressional and senatorial offices take ticket requests for the inauguration.
“That’s the curveball they throw at a new member during an inauguration year,” he said.
“You’re just getting set up, and all of a sudden here comes everybody.”
For days, Goldman’s offices have been in limbo.
His Austin and Fort Worth Texas House offices were closed to get ready for the new session. But he didn’t have a congressional office yet.
“I don’t even know, if someone calls the office, where that call has been going to,” he said.
Granger’s staff has been good about forwarding notes and messages, he said.
(If she had resigned, it would have taken at least five months for an expensive special election and runoff to replace her, and then maybe for only the final few days of the session.)
Goldman is expected to have Gramm standing alongside at the House swearing-in Jan. 3. That is, if the House successfully re-elects Speaker Mike Johnson without a long delay.
It’s the same House Chamber where the younger Goldman once stood in the wings with his father, Ronnie, waiting to meet House Speaker Jim Wright from Fort Worth.
“I’ll never forget — my dad said, ‘Wear a jacket. You’ve got to put on a tie. We’re going to meet Speaker Wright.’ I remember shaking his hand.”
Goldman, 56, is from a long-standing Fort Worth family with 70 years of history in wines and specialty foods. Their former South Hulen Street store, Ronnie’s, is now a Trader Joe’s.
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But his career has been mostly in politics and government, starting on Gramm’s staff before he became a campaigner in 2008 for Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain. Beginning in 2012, Goldman won six terms in the Texas House representing southwest Fort Worth.
He already landed a plum committee assignment in Washington. Goldman was appointed to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, giving Texas a new voice in energy and business decisions after the retirement of Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Flower Mound.
It’s the same committee that former Rep. Joe Barton of Ellis County led into national headlines for years, crafting policy on drilling and climate change along with everything from telecommunications to college football playoffs.
“I think I heard it’s the first time in 13 years a freshman made that committee,” he said. “We lost a major seat for North Texas with Burgess leaving. I’ve been making the case that they needed North Texas representation on that committee.”
In Austin, Goldman was chairman of the Committee on Energy Resources.
“The first thing we need to do is revoke the Biden administration restrictions and tell our oil and gas friends America is open for business,” he said.
Goldman went to elementary school with another Fort Worthian who has become an indirect spokesman for oil and gas.
Former Trinity Valley School classmate Taylor Sheridan’s Paramount+ streaming hit show “Landman” shows all the grit and grime and danger of the industry between one-liners by Billy Bob Thornton, including occasional monologues about the importance of oil.
“isn’t it amazing, the timing of Taylor’s shows?” he asked. “They couldn’t come at a more perfect time.
“I was sitting next to this lady on a plane the other day. She asked, ‘Have you seen this “Landman”? It’s phenomenal.’ ”
Nearly 50 years later, after 30 years in politics, we now know Goldman as the new congressman in Fort Worth.
But he may be more famous in Washington as The Guy Who Went to Elementary School With Taylor Sheridan.
This story was originally published January 2, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
