Barry T. Smitherman

Barry Thomas Smitherman
Born	(1957-09-13) September 13, 1957 Highlands, Harris County, Texas, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Lawyer, politician
Years active	2003–2015
Known for	Member and chairman of the Texas Railroad Commission (2011–2015)

Barry Thomas Smitherman (born September 13, 1957) is a U.S. lawyer who was a member of the Texas Railroad Commission from 2011 until 2015, serving part of that time as its chairman. A member of the Republican Party, he was appointed by Governor Rick Perry on July 8, 2011, to occupy a vacant position. On February 28, 2012, Smitherman was chosen as chairman of the commission, which oversees the regulation of Texas's oil and gas industry, not railroads.

In 2013, Smitherman declared his intention to run for Texas state attorney general in the Republican primary held on March 4, 2014. This election came after Greg Abbott pursued the governorship to succeed Rick Perry. Smitherman contended with State Senator Ken Paxton from McKinney and State Representative Dan Branch representing Dallas County. He finished third in the primary, securing 281,064 votes (22.1 percent).

Background

Smitherman grew up in Highlands, located in Harris County on Houston's eastern side. He completed his secondary education at Ross S. Sterling High School in Baytown, Texas, before graduating summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Business Administration from Texas A&M University at College Station. He earned his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Texas School of Law while simultaneously working for Democratic state senator Lindon Williams. Additionally, Smitherman obtained a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University's Kennedy School, where he was awarded the first Joel Leff Fellowship in Political Economy.

His professional journey began in banking, holding senior positions at First Boston, Lazard, and J.P. Morgan Securities. Eventually, he led Bank One's national municipal finance division until his dismissal in April 2002. Bank One cited his failure to secure authorization prior to co-authoring an opinion piece for the Houston Chronicle alongside conservative city council members focused on enhancing Houston’s credit rating as grounds for termination.

In January 2003, Smitherman transitioned to the Harris County District Attorney’s office as a prosecutor. By May that year, Governor Perry appointed him to serve on the Texas Public Finance Authority board. In April 2004, Perry further appointed him to the Texas Public Utility Commission (PUC), where Smitherman became chairman in November 2007.

In 2004, he authored If Jesus Were an Investment Banker (or Any Other Type of Modern Businessman): Leadership Principles from the Messiah and Personal Reflections of an Investment Banker Striving to Be a Christian.

Railroad Commission

Following seven years at the PUC—where he championed deregulation—Smitherman departed in July 2011 when Governor Perry appointed him to the Railroad Commission to fill the vacancy left by Republican Michael L. Williams, who unsuccessfully sought election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012. On February 28, 2012, Smitherman was elected chairman after Elizabeth Ames Jones resigned to pursue a Texas Senate seat.

In February 2013, Smitherman issued an apology after retweeting a list naming sixteen Republican senators who voted to permit debate on gun control legislation; this retweet included an image of a noose and the word "TREASON." Later that year, he criticized his daughter's school for utilizing Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) materials during their study of To Kill a Mockingbird, condemning what he described as the SPLC's "radical view of racism, hate, and intolerance" and defending organizations classified as hate groups by the SPLC.

Smitherman’s term concluded in January 2015. He was succeeded by Ryan Sitton of Friendswood and joined fellow Republicans David J. Porter from Lee County—who retired in January 2017—and Christi Craddick from Austin, who was elected in 2012 to replace Elizabeth Ames Jones’s former seat.

2012 election

During the 2012 race, Smitherman secured the Republican nomination to fill the remainder of Williams' term on the Railroad Commission. In the runoff held on July 31, he triumphed over fellow conservative Greg Parker, a Comal County commissioner, by earning 62.1% of the vote compared to Parker’s 37.9%. Although Smitherman led the initial primary with 44%, he fell short of achieving an outright majority.

In the general election on November 6, Smitherman achieved a commanding victory with 73.76% of ballots cast, outperforming Libertarian Jaime Perez, who received 18.32%, and Green Party contender Josh Wendel, who garnered 7.90%. Notably, no Democratic candidate was in the race. Following his election, Smitherman advocated for renaming the Railroad Commission to better align its title with its contemporary responsibilities.

In the May 27, 2014 runoff to replace Smitherman, oil and gas engineer Ryan Sitton emerged victorious over Wayne Christian, who had led in the primary but retained a similar vote share in the runoff. Sitton had previously been defeated in the 2012 District 24 legislative primary by Republican Greg Bonnen from Galveston County.

Personal life

Smitherman resides in Austin with his wife, Marijane Frede, and their four children. Among them, two have graduated from Texas A&M University, one is currently enrolled at Southern Methodist University, and another attends Princeton University. The family is actively involved with Austin Ridge Church, a non-denominational congregation.

External links

• About Chairman Smitherman at Railroad Commission of Texas website