Mella McEwen - Oil Editor
Midland Reporter-Telegram

Appointed more than 18 months ago to complete an unexpired term on the Railroad Commission, Republican Elizabeth Ames Jones is working hard to retain her seat.

"I am running a vigorous campaign for a full term in my own right," she said while in Midland for a speaking engagement.

When Gov. Rick Perry appointed the San Antonian to the commission, she said, "he saw what I was made of in the Texas House, where I worked hard on issues like property tax reform and school finance. He saw firsthand what my constituents knew: That I am determined, that I do my homework, I work hard and I listen."

More than that, she continued, the governor saw her background in the oil and gas industry not only a sixth generation Texan but part of a fourth generation of an oil industry family.

"My great-grandfather and grandfather drilled wells and had refineries," she said. "My father started out working for Gilcrease Oil in Oklahoma; he started out as a geologist for Tom Gilcrease and I grew up sitting on wells with him."

During her campaign, she said, "I am trying to make sure all of Texas sees what Rick Perry saw: That I am the 'man' for the job."

Since her appointment in February 2005, she added, "I have been eating, sleeping and breathing all things Railroad Commission. As a commissioner -- she was elected chairman last fall -- and if she is elected to a full term, Jones said an overriding goal will be to ensure that the agency has enough field personnel to oversee responsible development of the states oil and gas reserves.

To do so, she explained, will require maximizing all the efficiencies available to the agency, largely through utilizing technological advancements at the commission's Austin headquarters, so those revenues can be directed to its field personnel.

Having Railroad Commission boots in the field cannot be replaced by computers, she stated. "Their eyes and ears cannot be replaced by hard drives."

The agency, she continued, is highly regarded across the country as being on the cutting edge of embracing proven new technology and utilizing it.

Jones said that while she oversees an agency that regulates not only the state's oil and gas production, pipelines, the Oil Field Clean-up Fund and permits coal mines, "I have a healthy concern that bureaucracy oftentimes puts a damper on entrepreneurship. Now I am the head of a state agency and I want to be part of enhancing or encouraging entrepreneurship, whether it's a small business, mid-size business or even a big business. Even big businesses create jobs and provide economic stability."

Overseeing the businesses it regulates responsibly -- making sure the businesses follow regulations while not hindering business growth -- she said, "is important on my radar screen."

She has, she said, the utmost faith in the people at the commission. And perhaps aware of criticism that her position has often been used as a springboard to other offices, she added, "it is incumbent on any Railroad Commissioner to make a long-term commitment to this agency and to running it in an efficient and cost-effective manner."