Ryan Christopher Sitton (born 1975) is an American politician affiliated with the Republican Party. He was a member of the

Texas Railroad Commission The Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC; also sometimes called the Texas Railroad Commission, TRC) is the state agency that regulates the oil and gas industry, gas utilities, pipeline safety, safety in the liquefied petroleum gas industry, and su ...

from 2015 to 2021.

Personal life and education

Sitton was raised in Irving, Texas with his three siblings by his mother and father, both high school science teachers. Sitton displayed a talent for math and science. Sitton attended

Cistercian Preparatory School Cistercian Preparatory School is a private school for young men located in Irving, Texas, in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dallas. Serving grades five through twelve (though previously having a 4th grade pre-form), the school has a population o ...

and went on to study Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M University where he met his wife, Jennifer, also a mechanical engineering major. They now have three children and are active members of St. Andrews Episcopal Church. In his spare time, Sitton is an avid fitness enthusiast, does P90X every day and maintains a collection of over 100,000 Legos.Helman, Christopher
"Texas Oil Regulator: Trump EPA Pick Is Good At 'Breaking Down Worthless Organizations.'"
''Forbes''. Dec. 9, 2016.

Business career

Sitton spent his early career working for oil and gas companies, including ALCOA, Oxy, Marathon, and Berwanger Engineering and Consulting. In 2006, the Sittons founded PinnacleART, an engineering and technology company. PinnacleART operates on

solar power Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovoltaic e ...

with

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...

backups.

Political career

2012 Texas House of Representatives race

In 2012, Sitton lost a runoff contest with fellow Republican

Greg Bonnen James Gregory Bonnen (born June 18, 1966) is an American politician. He served as a Republican member for the 24th district of the Texas House of Representatives. Bonnen was born in Angleton, Texas. He attended Texas A&M University, where he ...

Galveston County Galveston County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas, located along the Gulf Coast adjacent to Galveston Bay. As of the 2020 census, the population was 350,682. The county was founded in 1838. The county seat is the City of Galveston, ...

for the District 24 seat in the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abou ...

Texas Railroad Commissioner

Incumbent officeholder

Barry Smitherman Barry Thomas Smitherman (born September 13, 1957) is an American lawyer who served as a member and chairman of the Texas Railroad Commission from 2011 to 2015. A Republican, he was appointed to the commission on July 8, 2011 by then Governor Ri ...

decided to run, unsuccessfully, for

state attorney general The state attorney general in each of the 50 U.S. states, of the federal district, or of any of the territories is the chief legal advisor to the state government and the state's chief law enforcement officer. In some states, the attorney genera ...

, thus creating an open seat. Sitton announced his candidacy for the Railroad Commission. Sitton finished second in the

GOP The Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP ("Grand Old Party"), is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States. The GOP was founded in 1854 by anti-slavery activists who opposed the Kansas–Nebraska Act, ...

primary held on March 4, 2014, with 358,827 votes (30.5 percent), and hence qualified for the runoff slot. In the second round of balloting, Christian again polled 42.7 percent of the vote, the same as his primary tabulation in a field of four candidates. Sitton, however, increased his total from the primary to the runoff election by nearly 27 percentage points, attributed to strong fundraising from industry professionals. The ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...

'' endorsed Sitton over Christian on May 12, prior to the runoff election. Sitton also carried the backing of outgoing

Texas Land Commissioner The Texas General Land Office (GLO) is a state agency of the U.S. state of Texas, responsible for managing lands and mineral rights properties that are owned by the state. The GLO also manages and contributes to the state's Permanent School Fund. ...

Jerry E. Patterson Jerry Emmett Patterson (born November 15, 1946) is an American politician who served as the commissioner of the Texas General Land Office from 2003 to 2015. A former state senator, he was the second Republican since Reconstruction to serve as la ...

, who lost his own bid for

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

in the March 4 primary. Sitton polled 398,652 votes (57.3 percent) to Christian's 297,654 (42.7 percent). Sitton outspent Christian by a large amount. Sitton faced Steve Brown, a Democratic businessman from

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Libertarian Party Active parties by country Defunct parties by country Organizations associated with Libertarian parties See also * Liberal parties by country * List of libertarian organizations * Lists of political parties Lists of political part ...

candidate Mark Miller, and

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...

candidate Martina Salinas. Sitton won the general election with 58% of the vote. Sitton was sworn in on January 5, 2015, succeeding outgoing Commissioner

. He is the first mechanical engineer to serve on the Commission in 50 years. In December 2016, Sitton praised President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

's choice for EPA head,

Scott Pruitt Edward Scott Pruitt (born May 9, 1968) is an American lawyer, lobbyist and Republican politician from the state of Oklahoma. He served as the fourteenth Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from February 17, 2017, to July ...

, predicting that Trump and Pruitt's reduction of federal regulations would lead to an oil boom. In 2017, Sitton voted in favor of Exxon Mobil in a regulation issue. He did not, however, disclose that Exxon Mobil is a client of his company, PinnacleART. In 2019, Sitton was passed over for Railroad Commission chairman, a break from tradition since the incumbent closest to re-election is usually chosen. In 2020, Sitton lost the Republican primary for reelection to

Jim Wright James Claude Wright Jr. (December 22, 1922 – May 6, 2015) was an American politician who served as the 48th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1987 to 1989. He represented Texas's 12th congressional district as a ...

, despite having the support of the Texas governor, lieutenant governor, and both of the state's senators. Sitton's campaign had raised $2 million more than Wright's $13,000 campaign. Sitton played a significant role in the

2020 Russia–Saudi Arabia oil price war On 8 March 2020, Saudi Arabia initiated a price war on oil with Russia, facilitating a 65% quarterly fall in the price of oil. In the first few weeks of March, US oil prices fell by 34%, crude oil fell by 26%, and Brent oil fell by 24%. The pr ...

. In 2020, Sitton returned to work as CEO at PinnacleART.

Election history

;2014 ;2012

Awards

*2015: ''

Houston Business Journal American City Business Journals, Inc. (ACBJ) is an American newspaper publisher based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACBJ publishes The Business Journals, which contains local business news for 44 markets in the United States, Hemmings Motor News ...

s 40 under 40 list. *2015: Distinguished Engineering Alumnus, Texas A&M University. *2016: Hearst Energy Award for Government Service.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sitton, Ryan 1975 births American Episcopalians American mechanical engineers Businesspeople from Texas Living people People from Friendswood, Texas People from Pasadena, Texas Texas A&M University alumni Texas Republicans