Kel Seliger called me today, saying he had “no reason at all” other than just to catch up.
The Republican Texas state senator and I had a nice chat. I won’t reveal the content of our conversation, but I do want to offer a comment, which I more or less shared with Seliger this morning.
It is that I will miss his service in the Texas Senate, where he has served with distinction and honor for the past 18 years. He is bowing out of political life and returning to what many of us would consider to be a more “normal” lifestyle. That is, he will do what his wife asks of him and will spend a lot more time with his sons, their wives and his new granddaughter.
Seliger’s Senate District 31 seat stretches a long way through West Texas, from the Panhandle’s border with Oklahoma to the Permian Basin more than 250 miles away. Kevin Sparks will be elected to the seat in November. Sparks lives in Midland, representing the oil and natural gas industries.
One of the many things I admired about Seliger was his fluency in Permian Basin-speak, which equaled his fluency in Panhandle-speak. Seliger knows the Panhandle — from grange halls to feedlots. He also became well-versed in fossil fuel issues down yonder in Midland and Odessa.
Sparks will face a challenge in equaling Seliger’s knowledge of the vast district. From what I can gather, though, Sparks is a right-wing toadie who is going to do every single thing that Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick wants him to do; Seliger resisted that pressure. It got him in trouble with Patrick, which leads me to another reason I grew to admire Seliger’s service to the state. He wouldn’t be pushed around by a vengeful pol who doesn’t know the first thing about issues affecting West Texans.
Seliger popped off about one of Patrick’s key aides and Patrick responded by stripping Seliger, a former Amarillo mayor, of chairmanships and key committee assignments.
Seliger’s political career is winding down. I will hope for the best for my former neighbors and my many friends in the Panhandle that the new guy will step up and represent their interests with as much vigor as he will represent the Permian Basin.
At this moment, I am doubtful.
Still, it was good to catch up with my friend.