Meet the candidates running to oversee the Texas oil and gas industry

On a recent evening in mid-October, a small crowd gathered at UT Austin’s Thompson Conference Center.

Light refreshments along the wall and cordial, hushed conversations in the lobby gave the gathering the feel of a niche academic discussion, the kind you might find on campus on any given evening.

It wasn’t.

Instead, it was the only time three candidates for one of the nation’s top energy jobs met before Election Day.

The forum, hosted by the nonpartisan watchdog group Commission changefeatured contenders for a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission. This is the name of the state agency that regulates the powerful oil and gas industry.

The current railroad commissioner, Republican Christi Craddick, was absent.

Democrat Katherine Culbert, Libertarian Hawk Dunlap and Green Party candidate Eddie Espinoza were in attendance.

After meeting in the lobby, the three entered a nearby lecture hall to answer questions about energy policy, the environment and the future of Texas.

Their responses at the forum and in interviews with KUT highlighted differences but also some key agreements among challengers seeking to reform an agency that they say has fallen under the control of the very industry it regulates.

Katherine Culbert, Democratic candidate

Culbert is a Houston-based process safety engineer working in oil and gas.

She decided to run because she has long been frustrated with the lax oversight she says the Railroad Commission provides.

When asked for examples, Culbert pointed to the recent pipeline fire in Deer Park, outside Houston.

That fire burned for days after a driver hit a natural gas valve with his car. The driver died, people were injured and told to evacuate, houses were damaged.

“The Railway Commission, their response was (to say) ‘Oh, an inspector is on the way.’ That’s it!” says Culbert.

“However, we haven’t heard anything in terms of the investigation, the fines, how they hold (pipeline company) Energy Transfer accountable.”

She and the other three challengers say they will increase oversight and accountability of the big energy companies and change the Railroad Commission’s name to something less confusing.

They are advocating for campaign finance reform to prevent commissioners from accepting donations from companies they do business with.

“Commissioners must take responsibility to recuse themselves from any vote that takes place at the commission that affects any companies that have donated to them,” says Culbert. “We really need across-the-board campaign finance reform.”

Hawk Dunlap, Libertarian

Originally from Longview in East Texas, Hawk Dunlap has worked around the world as an oil well control specialist.

When the coronavirus pandemic hit in 2020, he found himself back in Texas, surprised by the number of abandoned oil wells that were leaking fluid and endangering groundwater in the Permian Basin.

“I’ve worked and traveled to over 100 countries around the world and I’ve never seen anything as bad as what we’re seeing in West Texas,” Dunlap told KUT.

He joined an emerging group of Texas oil field activists, including former candidate for the Railroad Commission Sarah Stogner, who decries lax oversight by state regulators.

“Landowners call me to help them with problems before they call the Railroad Commission because they know I’m going to respond,” Dunlap said. “What the Railroad Commission is supposed to be doing for landowners in the state of Texas is not being done.”

Among other things, Dunlap wants to overhaul the way companies decommission and plug old oil wells.

He also advocates increasing oil field wastewater recycling or taxing the injection of wastewater into the ground to reduce blowouts and leaks from abandoned “orphan” oil wells.

“The (used) cattle are being shipped from Louisiana because they have limited their injection rates. Oklahoma carries to Texas, New Mexico carries to Texas,” Dunlap said. “We’re going to have to eliminate that.”

Eddie Espinoza, the Green Party candidate

Green Party candidate Eddie Espinoza appears to be the only candidate without oil and gas experience.

After serving in the military, Espinoza moved to the Rio Grande Valley, where he taught public school for 26 years.

He entered the race out of a desire to protect future generations from the impacts of climate change.

“It’s time to raise the alarm about the reality of global warming,” says Espinoza. “We know these fossil fuel companies will be around for a while. But it needs to move from fossil fuel extraction to connecting and cleaning up and helping us decarbonize the Texas economy.”

Espinoza advocates for climate resilience funding to protect Texas cities from extreme heat waves, an increased focus on energy conservation and putting public money toward a “just transition” away from fossil fuels.

“Going green and decarbonizing the Texas economy will create a lot of jobs,” he says.

Christi Craddick, Republican candidate

Christi Craddick is the current Chair of the Railroad Commission. Chair is a role usually given to commissioners when they run for re-election.

A native of Midland, Craddick has served on the commission since 2012.

She is the daughter of former Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick, the longest-serving legislator in the history of the state’s House of Representatives.

While the rest of the candidates called for commission reform, Craddick campaigned on her record.

She says the fossil fuel industry is doing well in Texas right now, thanks in part to her leadership.

She emphasized her support for the industry and opposed the federal government’s efforts to tighten environmental and public health regulations in the oil field.

Craddick’s campaign did not respond to interview requests by the time of publication.

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