On a recent mid-October evening a small crowd milled about at UT Austin’s Thompson Conference Center.
The light refreshments along the wall, and the cordial, hushed conversations in the lobby, gave the gathering the feel of a niche academic talk, the kind you can find on campus any given night.
It was not.
Instead, this was the only time three candidates for one of the most important energy jobs in the country would meet ahead of Election Day.
The forum, hosted by the non-partisan watchdog group Commission Shift, featured contenders for a seat on the Railroad Commission of Texas. That’s the name for the state agency that regulates the powerful oil and gas industry.
Absent was the incumbent Railroad Commissioner, Republican Christi Craddick.
In attendance were Democrat Katherine Culbert, Libertarian Hawk Dunlap and Green Party Candidate Eddie Espinoza.
After the meet-and-greet in the lobby, the three walked into a nearby lecture hall to take questions on energy policy, the environment and the future of Texas.
Their answers in the forum and in interviews with KUT, highlighted differences, but also some key agreements between the 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 process safety engineer from Houston who works in oil and gas.
She decided to run because she’s long been frustrated by the lax oversight she says the Railroad Commission provides.
When asked for examples, Culbert pointed to the recent pipeline fire in Deer Park outside of 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, homes were damaged.
“The Railroad Commission, their response was [to say] ‘Oh an inspector is on their way.’ That's it!” says Culbert.
“Still, we’ve heard nothing as far as the investigation, as far as any fines, as far as how they are holding [pipeline company] Energy Transfer accountable.”
She, and the three other challengers, say they will increase oversight and accountability of big energy companies, and change the name of the Railroad Commission to something less confusing.
They advocate for campaign finance reform to stop commissioners from accepting donations from companies they do business with.
“Commissioners need to take it upon themselves to recuse themselves from any vote that’s happening at the commission that affects any companies that have given them donations,” says Culbert. “We really need campaign finance reform across the board.”
Hawk Dunlap, Libertarian
Originally from Longview in East Texas, Hawk Dunlap 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 throughout the world and I’ve never seen anything as bad as what we’re seeing out in West Texas,” Dunlap told KUT.
He joined up with an emerging group of activists from the Texas oil patch, including former Railroad Commission candidate Sarah Stogner, who decry poor oversight by state regulators.
“Landowners call me to help them with problems before they call the Railroad Commission because they know I’ll respond,” said Dunlap. “What the Railroad Commission is supposed to be doing for the landowners of the state of Texas is not getting done.”
Among other things, Dunlap wants to overhaul the way companies decommission and plug old oil wells.
He also advocates for increasing oilfield wastewater recycling or taxing wastewater injection into the ground, to reduce blowouts and leaks from abandoned “orphan” oil wells.
“We have [waste]water being hauled in from Louisiana, because they’ve restricted their injection rates. Oklahoma is hauling into Texas, New Mexico is hauling into Texas,” said Dunlap. “We’re gonna have to eliminate that.”
Eddie Espinoza, Green Party candidate
Green Party candidate, Eddie Espinoza, appears to be the only candidate without a background in oil and gas.
After serving in the Army, Espinoza moved to the Rio Grande Valley where he taught public school for 26 years.
He got in 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 that these fossil fuel companies are going to be around for a while. But they need to transition away from fossil fuel extraction to plugging and cleaning 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 towards a “just transition” away from fossil fuels.
“Going green and decarbonizing the Texas economy is going to create a lot of jobs,” he says.
Christi Craddick, Republican candidate
Christi Craddick is the current Chair of the Railroad Commission. Chair is role typically a role bestowed upon commissioners when they run for reelection.
Originally from Midland, Craddick has served on the commission since 2012.
She is the daughter of former Speaker of the Texas House Tom Craddick, the longest serving legislator in the history of the state House of Representatives.
While the rest of the candidates have called for reform of the commission, Craddick has campaigned on her record.
She says the fossil fuel industry is doing well in Texas right now, thanks in part to her leadership.
She has highlighted her support of the industry, and opposed efforts by the federal government to tighten environmental and public health regulations in the oil field.
Craddick’s campaign did not reply to requests for an interview as of the time of publication.
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