Burnt Orange Report

Bob Scarborough Report

By Karl-Thomas Musselman

Sue Weninger, our official blogger at the National Convention and blogger at the incredible cool West Texas Voice Blog sends in this report on Bob Scarborough visiting Lubbock. He's running for one of the Texas Railroad Commissioner seats and his website is here.

I went to hear Bob Scarborough speak at the Lubbock County party HQ this morning. He’s the Democrat running for The Texas Railroad Commission. I didn’t know what to expect. Railroad commission—sounds like something created in 1891 by Gov. Hogg. Zounds. That’s exactly what it is. Back in those days, Bob explained, the commission lobbied for Texas citizens in the face of powerful back east railroad corporations that wanted to charge too much for railroad transportation. The commission was created to protect the public interest and the citizens of Texas. Now along with railroad crossings it regulates oil and gas. The only problem is that it’s fallen into the toothy jaws of the barracuda known as the oil and gas industry.

Bob wants to set the commission back on its original course as the peoples’ lobby, this time with the oil and gas industry. He seeks better public policy on the issues of severance tax exemptions, remediation of ecologically damaged land, prevention of ecological catastrophe from uncapped abandoned wells, and he also wants to support those small producers who pump 4-5 barrels a week in stripper operations. This man is authentic. When you hear him talk you just know that he’s got the people foremost in his thoughts.

I want you to visit his website and for the sake of goodness and the people of Texas, vote for him and give him some money. He and his wife of 49 years Glenella are traveling Texas in a “little white casita”. Buy them a tank of gas at the very least.