Issue Position: Why I Am Running

Issue Position

My election would bring a much needed viewpoint to the commission; the viewpoint of the ordinary citizen and voter. I am not a professional politician. I am not a lawyer. I have never received a government paycheck. I have over 30 years experience in the private sector and would look on election to the Railroad Commission as the culmination of my public service not as the next stepping stone in my political career.

If elected to the railroad commission I want to use my position as a bully pulpit. I will be a strong voice for Texas energy. The Obama administration cap and trade energy tax, the proposed changes in tax law such as doing away with percentage depletion, and intangible drilling cost expensing, and other regulatory changes are a de facto declaration of economic war by the current administration on the Texas oil and gas industry. I want to be a leader in the effort to fight back and support the economic backbone of Texas.

I am a conservative Republican who believes we need to create a business climate that will lead to more drilling to make America more energy secure, solidity the long term viability of our state's energy industry and protect the hundreds of thousands of Texas jobs it represents. I believe we can and should protect our natural resources while maintaining a vibrant economy and creating jobs. All regulatory initiatives must be based on legitimate scientific research.

There are two major reasons our Texas economy has been doing better than the national averages the last couple of years. They are the strong performance of the oil and gas industry and Texas great support of the free enterprise system though limiting regulations and taxes to a more reasonable level than most of the rest of the country. I want to keep the success of the Texas economy going by continuing to do what has made us successful.

If you want some proof of the Obama administrations attitude towards the oil industry just look at the testimony on 9/10/09 by Alan B. Krueger chief economist in the treasury department to the Senate Finance Committee's Energy, Natural Resources and Infrastructure Subcommittee. Mr. Krueger presented the administration's position by saying previously the government had encouraged over investment of domestic resources in the oil industry. He stated the relatively small share of global oil production, produced by the US was so small that any reductions in US production would have limited impact on world oil production and prices.

Alternative energy sources such as wind and solar will have an increasing role to play in providing Texas's energy needs. I support those efforts, but unlike the national administration that lives in the fantasy land know as Washington DC, we in Texas live in the real world. We know that fossil fuels (primary oil and gas) but also coal are going to be the largest source of energy for our state and country for the next generation or two. I predict that 50 years from now the only thing that will be more important to the well being and economy of Texas than oil and gas will be water.

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