Replies

Probably most Texans don't even know who their state railroad commissioners are, because it's an odd department to have an election for (my guess is the reason it's an elected, rather than an appointed post, has to do with Texas’ historic role in the old west period when they developed a national railroad). Other unusual positions that some states choose to make an elected office are state insurance commissioner, state director of public lands, and state forestry director. Here in Crook County, Illinois, the lowest elected “countywide” office is Water Reclamation District Commissioner.

I read somewhere that Illinois has more rail traffic than any other state in the nation (it certainly looks like it in this map: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/Class1rr.png) Or maybe it just was that Illinois leads the nation in transit, or something.

I don't think we even have a state railroad commission, the equivalent that people have heard of anyway, is the Central Transit Authority. That's an appointed board, and the scary thing is that Judas Barr Too-pinka talked her way into being appointed after she was defeated for Governor (just can't give up sucking at the taxpayer teat I guess), and might be using it to prep for a “comeback” to elected statewide again in 2010 as Treasurer or Comptroller (http://www.rtachicago.com/CMS400Min/uploadedFiles/JudyBaarTopinkaBio.pdf)

By the way, Williams has a video on his campaign site of his speech at the Texas Tea Party. If he gives speeches
like that in the well of the Senate, he'll be fantastic.

http://www.williamsfortexas.com/

The RR Commission doesn’t even have any oversight of the railroads anymore (that was taken away in 2005). This has an adequate description of their role:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Railroad_Commission

Williams mentioned this in a speech I saw from either late last year or earlier this year. The name of the commission should be changed to the Energy Commission.