Bo French and Jon Rosenthal Fight Over Culture and Oil Rules in the Railroad Commission Race
The Republican's past remarks have put a quiet oil and gas regulator race in the spotlight. The Democrat says he wants to talk about the job.
One of the races on every Texas ballot this fall will decide a seat on the Railroad Commission, the three-member body that regulates the state's oil and gas industry. Republican Bo French and Democrat Jon Rosenthal are fighting over both the job and the culture wars, The Texas Tribune reported Saturday.
What the commission does
Despite its name, the commission does not regulate railroads. Commissioners vote on drilling permits, issue penalties for violations, approve pipeline construction and oversee programs for disposing of oilfield wastewater. The agency has a budget of about half a billion dollars.
The candidates
French, 56, is a Midland native whose family owns French Oil, a Midland oil company. He is best known for leading the Tarrant County Republican Party. He has promised to lower electricity and gas prices, cut regulations and DEI programs, crack down on foreign ownership of oil and gas wells and promote anti-abortion policies. He says the commission should stay out of the way so the industry can produce more oil.
Rosenthal, 63, is an oil field engineer and four-term state representative from Houston who calls himself a "Drill, Baby, Drill" Democrat. He has pledged to go after companies that regularly exceed air pollution limits, charge a fee on companies that inject oilfield wastewater underground and use the money to plug orphan wells, and require natural gas plants to prepare for extreme weather. If he wins, he would be the first Democrat elected to the commission since the 1990s.
The remarks
French's comments have drawn criticism from his own party. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick asked him to step down from party leadership after he posted a poll asking whether "Jews" or "Muslims" pose a bigger threat to the U.S. In September he suggested without evidence that South Asian students had taken white students' places at the University of Texas at Austin. Patrick and Gov. Greg Abbott backed Republican Jim Wright in the primary. French did not respond to the Tribune's requests for comment.
After French's post went viral, Rosenthal drew roughly $488,000 in contributions from every state but North Dakota, the Tribune reported earlier this month.
"In the context of this race, it should be about the facts, but that has changed because … I get asked about (French's comments) every day," Rosenthal said.
Weigh the job
This seat matters to every Texan who pays a utility bill or lives near a well. Contempt for neighbors because of their race or religion has no place in public office, and voters should weigh that. They should also weigh who understands permits, pipelines and wastewater. The commission already faces hard questions, such as how fast to allow reuse of oilfield water. Early voting starts Monday; see what is on every Texas ballot.
