Texas voters have the opportunity to end the disgraceful tenure of Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller. Whether that happens in the GOP primary or the general election, our state would be for the better.
First elected to this office in 2014, Miller is seeking a third term as head of the state agency that regulates weights and measures, supports the agriculture industry, implements federal school meal programs and spurs economic development for rural Texas.
The agency does this despite Miller, who has failed as a public servant in nearly every possible way. Republican primary voters should ask themselves, just what is conservative about Sid Miller?
Consider:
In January, Miller’s campaign spokesman and political consultant, Todd M. Smith, was indicted on theft and bribery charges. Everyone is entitled to the presumption of innocence, but voters should have the reasonable expectation that top aides of elected officials not get indicted.
Before that, Miller unnecessarily raised fees to bloat his department, straining farmers and ranchers.
He used taxpayer funds to attend a rodeo in Mississippi and travel to Oklahoma for a so-called “Jesus Shot” to treat chronic pain. He repaid taxpayers after the trips gained media attention.
Don’t forget how he briefly appointed Smith’s wife to a $180,000-a-year position or spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on staff bonuses.
Then there were his ideas to put deep fryers back in school kitchens and use the anticoagulant warfarin to kill feral hogs.
We could go on, but Miller’s record speaks for itself.
Fortunately, Republican voters have solid conservative options.
In the Republican primary, we recommend state Rep. James White.
An Army veteran and Texas native, White is a six-term state representative for District 19, an area north of Beaumont.
The lifelong conservative taught government and economics at the high school and college levels. He also owns a beef cattle operation.
White served on the Texas House committee on agriculture and would bring much-needed ethical and thoughtful leadership to the Texas Department of Agriculture. His initial vision for the office is to roll back excessive fees, encourage and empower agency staff to maintain high ethics and transparency, review all regulations and improve school meals.
Also running is Carey Counsil, a businessman, rancher and economics professor. Counsil, an Air Force veteran, is not a career politician, but he has sat on the board of the Brenham Independent School District.
Both White and Counsil are engaging and knowledgeable about the issues. And both are better options than Miller — way better.
Susan Hays, a Democratic candidate for Texas Commissioner of Agriculture, has shown leadership on hemp cultivation and would offer much-needed accountability to the agency.
Courtesy /For the Democratic ticket, we recommend attorney Susan Hays.
A native Texan, she’s an attorney with experience in reproductive and voting rights. More recently, she focused on cannabis policy and worked as a lobbyist. Hays operates a small hemp and hops farm south of Alpine.
She helped draft and pass the 2019 hemp bill that legalized hemp cultivation and hemp-derived cannabinoid products.
She said Miller’s ethics problems prompted her to run.
Her first order of business, she said, would be to mend the Texas Agriculture Department’s relationship with the Legislature. She also seeks to do “internal housekeeping,” including forensic accounting to review the department’s finances.
Also in the primary is Ed Ireson, a businessman whose family has run cattle in Brazos County for generations. He’s focused on improving school meals and rural internet access, and promoting opportunities in the agriculture industry.
Both Hays and Ireson have interesting ideas to improve school lunches and the agriculture supply chain.
After years of controversies and ethics problems at the state agriculture department, Texans should reward themselves with a fresh start.
We’ve recommended White and Hays, but all four of these candidates are superior to Miller.