Jon Rosenthal

Where Rosenthal stands

Are there any little-known powers or responsibilities held by this office that you believe more people should be aware of?

The Texas Railroad Commission should be renamed “The Texas Oil & Natural Gas Commission”. Most Texans wrongly believe that this position regulates railroads because of the name. A huge part of our campaign - and, ultimately, the job when elected - is educating the public on what the RRC actually does - regulate Oil and Natural Gas operations including drilling & production, pipelines, storage and waste management, and of course plugging abandoned and “zombie” wells. The office itself is little-known by default.

What kind of skills or expertise do you believe would be the most helpful for the holders of this office to possess?

I’ve worked in the oil and gas industry for over 25 years, and have actually been in the field (unlike most of my opponents running for this position). I have direct experience in most areas of oil & natural gas operations and extensive industry background overall.

Oil & gas

We should streamline processes and reduce permitting time and costs for good actors, to encourage and promote responsible operators. And we should impose heavy fines and rigid requirements on egregious violators. Breaking the law should have consequences, and we must not reward companies who operate outside legal limits.

Oil & gas (2)

I’ll advocate for funding to turbocharge well plugging and environmental cleanup. And I’ll work with communities and industry stakeholders to end routine flaring, weatherize natural gas facilities, implement stronger setback standards, and more common-sense measures to reduce environmental risks while also ensuring this critical industry continues to thrive.

Energy

I support an all-of-the-above approach to energy production in Texas. Frankly – we need all the power we can get. Even before considering data centers, explosive growth of all other industries and population growth demands this approach. We should promote all energy production, including natural gas, geothermal, and renewable sources.

Biggest challenge for Texas

For the RRC, the biggest challenge is to correct our priorities regarding landowners vs. oil and gas companies, as well as surface rights vs. mineral rights.

What is an accomplishment that you are proud of?

I’m most proud of my work building teams to accomplish big things, and always helping others around me to grow and develop.

Putting Texans Over Special Interests

Let’s fight against corruption together. If you’re granting a company’s permit, you shouldn’t be cashing that company’s check – full stop. Texans deserve regulators who answer to them, not to corporate big money donors. We’ll ban industry money, publish who we meet with, and make enforcement visible so decisions are based on facts, not favors.

Stop the Waste & Clean Up the Mess

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What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Of course, Texas Energy Policy, and also my other priorities and goals, remain rooted in the same values that originally drew me to politics: affordability for the basic necessities for our working families, improving public education and access to healthcare, justice and human rights for ALL, and fighting bigotry and discrimination in all forms.

What responsibilities of this office do you personally consider the most important?

Put simply, the Railroad Commission makes sure Texas families and businesses have reliable energy and that our state’s most important resources are managed responsibly.

Would a state ballot initiative process be good or bad for your state?

It would be good for Texas, as we would have certain items like Medicaid expansion and marijuana legalization in law by now!

Top priorities

The Railroad Commission should put the people of Texas above big money interests, but lacks resources to do so adequately. I’ll advocate for increased funding to enforce existing requirements and be more responsive to communities. We should streamline permits for good actors and impose serious fines on egregious violators.