January Meeting – Texas Railroad Commissioner Candidate Forum
Come meet the 2014 Republican candidates for Texas Railroad Commissioner at our January meeting. This candidate forum includes:
Becky Berger is an oil & gas professional and a degreed Geologist. She has worked for the Department of Energy and on a state Geological Survey. She also has experience in the mining industry. Her work has included exploration, exploitation (field development), wellsite geologist, mudlogger, expert witness in civil trials, acquisitions and divestiture of mineral assets. Texans can lead the energy producing states in best practices only if the regulators know what best practices are for the energy businesses the Railroad Commission oversees. I can bring sound operations and production experience to the regulatory side of this business.
Malachi Boyuls is currently a partner in St. Augustine Capital Partners, LLC, an Texas-based partnership focused on principal investing, brokering and consulting services for small to middle-market transactions in the oil and gas industry. Prior to this business venture, he helped start a successful small business, a commercial real estate business. He also practiced law in the Dallas office of Gibson, Dunn, & Crutcher LLP, where he practiced in the firm’s regulatory groups—including antitrust, energy, securities, and intellectual property—fighting the federal government on behalf of free enterprise. He has authored legal articles arguing for revised regulations in the federal antitrust and professional responsibility context.
Wayne Christian brings to the table two decades of fighting for conservative causes and winning. He has experience as both a legislator and a businessman. Throughout his time in the legislature, Wayne Christian was ranked not only consistently conservative, but literally as the most conservative legislator in Texas. Serving as President of the Texas Conservative Coalition and dubbed by many as the “General” of the Texas Tea Party. Wayne Christian’s roots in the oil and gas industry go back to his teenage years of working at his mom and dad’s service station in Tenaha, Texas. In the legislature, he served as Vice Chairman of the Regulated Industries Committee and two terms as a member of the Energy Committee.
Ryan Sitton is a native Texan and a 1998 graduate of Texas A&M University, where he obtained a degree in Mechanical Engineering, and met his future wife, Jennifer. In 2006, Ryan and Jennifer founded PinnacleAIS, an engineering and technology company focused on reliability and integrity programs for the oil, gas, and petrochemical industries. Since 2006, Pinnacle has experienced substantial growth, recently surpassing 300 employees. Inc. Magazine recognized Pinnacle in 2012 and 2013 as one of the top 1,500 fastest growing, privately held companies in the world.
~ Joanie Bain, Programs