The following are the complete and unedited responses submitted by the candidate listed below to the Amarillo Pioneer’s Candidate Questionnaire.

Name: Jon Rosenthal

Office Sought: Railroad Commissioner

Party Affiliation: Democratic

Age: 62

What is your educational background? Please list any degrees or certificates earned and any institutions attended.

B.S., Mechanical Engineering, UT Austin

What is your occupation?

State Representative (Worked in the oil & gas industry for 25 years, retired in 2018)

Please list any civic boards or commissions (non-profit, government, union, religious, political, etc.) on which you have served as a board member or equivalent.

N/A

Have you previously held or do you currently hold any elected office? If so, what office(s)?

Texas State Representative HD135 2019-Present

If your campaign has any online campaign resources where voters can learn more about you, such as social media accounts or a website, please list them below.

jonrosenthaltx.com

Why did you decide to run for this office in 2026?

I'm running because I believe the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) should be laser-focused on making sure Texas families and businesses have reliable energy and that our state’s most important resources are managed responsibly. The RRC should serve the PEOPLE of Texas, not just big money corporate interests and partisan political bosses.

All of the current Commissioners serve themselves first, and prioritize big money interests. No one currently serving on or running for the RRC has the technical background or the in-the-field industry and technical experience that I have. Some have no industry experience at all, while some either own oilfield interests or are otherwise beholden to the industry.

I worked for over 25 years in and around the oilfield as a Product Design Engineer, Service & Commissioning Engineer, Project Engineer, Manufacturing Engineer, Project Manager, Engineering Manager, and Subsea Systems Engineer. I’ve been around the world leading large teams on complex and large-scale construction and subsea development projects. I’ve worked Upstream, Midstream, and Downstream - and I've got the scars to prove it.

If elected, what will be your top three priorities in office?

Keep the power on and reduce our bills: Improve our Texas Energy Infrastructure to make it more reliable and more affordable, so that our power can stay on during severe winter storm events, and so we can reduce our electric bills.

Weatherization Requirements for critical gas production, processing, and pipelines – with deadlines, third-party audits, and fines that actually deter violations.
Reliability scorecards: publish site-level compliance so communities and markets can see who’s ready for extreme weather.
Consumer protection on gas rates: require prudence reviews before companies pass storm costs to customers; block recovery of costs caused by negligence.

Putting Texans Over Special Interests, let’s fight against corruption together.
Ban industry donations to Railroad Commissioners (push for a statutory change) and adopt an immediate personal pledge to refuse them.
Full transparency: publish calendars, meetings, and recusals; plain-English summaries of decisions.
Push the Legislature to rename the agency to the Texas Energy Commission so voters and the general public know what it does.

Clean Air, Clean Water, Safe Communities. No Texan should have to choose between a paycheck and their child’s health. Good jobs and clean air can – and must – coexist.
End routine flaring and venting – permit only true emergencies, with continuous monitoring and swift penalties.
Modern leak-detection and repair (LDAR) requirements (optical gas imaging, continuous monitors in hotspots) to stop methane and VOC leaks fast.
Groundwater safeguards: baseline and follow-up water testing around high-risk operations; tougher liners and monitoring at waste sites.
Stronger setback standards from homes, schools, and hospitals; require best-available control technology in front-line neighborhoods.

What is an issue you believe has gone overlooked in your race and how will you address it if elected?

The failure of the RRC to effectively manage and plug orphan and zombie wells in our state. While a new law went into effect in September 2025 for operators to plug wells inactive for at least 15 years, and despite a $100 Million dollar emergency funding allocation explicitly to plug these dangerous wells, the RRC has failed to keep up with increases in the thousands of orphan and zombie wells polluting our land, water, and air - that will only increase without keen focus and heightened awareness. When elected, I will raise awareness and will relentlessly push the RRC to deal with this. And I will go to the Legislature during session as well, testifying on and lobbying for bills that will address orphan and zombie wells.

Do you have any notable endorsements you would like to highlight for voters? If this question is not applicable, please write N/A.

We will be rolling out our list later this year.

Why are you the best candidate for voters to support for this position?

I am the only candidate for RRC in 2026 with both Energy Industry Technical background and experience and also Legislative experience, and I will actually fight for consumer protections like affordability, reliability, and sustainability. My most likely opponents will uphold the status quo and do the industry’s bidding. I believe the RRC must work to lower power bills for Texas working families while we strengthen our energy infrastructure and grow our global energy leadership.