Where the Candidates for Railroad Commissioner Stand

Photos by Landov

Tomorrow is primary day in Texas, and in the race for the open seat on the Railroad Commission, the state’s oil and gas regulator, you might be curious to know where exactly the candidates stand on the issues. Those issues include swarms of earthquakes linked to oil and gas drilling activity; property rights battles with pipeline companies; and potential ethics reforms for the commissioners.

In a series of articles last week, we rounded up the candidates positions on these and other issues. Six of the candidates for Railroad Commissioner responded to our questionnaire, but three of the candidates, Republicans Malachi Boyuls, Wayne Christian and Ryan Sitton did not respond.

Each question below links to the candidates’ answers:

1. Should the name of the Railroad Commission be changed to more accurately reflect its mission?
2. Should the Railroad Commission be reformed?
3. What should the Railroad Commission do about manmade earthquakes linked to oil and gas drilling activities?
4. Should the Railroad Commission do more to protect property rights?
5. Should the Railroad Commission require groundwater testing before fracking?

The primary is tomorrow, March 4. Unless one of the candidates receives more than fifty percent of the vote in each party, the top two candidates will go to a runoff, with voting on May 27.