TYLER, Texas (KLTV) – Texas Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian, a Republican, and Democratic nominee for Texas Agriculture Commissioner Clayton Tucker, who hold opposing views on data centers, talked with Blake Holland for this week’s edition of East Texas Politics on East Texas Now.
Christian believes Texas should embrace data centers, while Tucker has called for a statewide moratorium on them.
Two sides of the data center debate
Christian said Texas should focus on solving the problems data centers create rather than rejecting them outright.
“I do not want the water wasted, I do not want our electricity bills to go up, all of that should not happen, but that does not mean you have to hold your eyes, ears, and mouth like the monkeys do and say, ‘no we don’t want it.’ We in Texas answer problems by fixing the problems,” Christian said.
Tucker, meanwhile, has framed the data center debate as a matter of protecting Texas farmers and landowners.
“As ag commissioner, it’s my responsibility to protect our farmers. To protect them from getting steamrolled whether it’s by big tech or big ag or whoever, whatever Silicon Valley or Wall Street elites are coming to take our land, to take our water, then it is my damn business to be very frank about it,” Tucker said.
Screwworms, Bo French and an agency name change?
Holland also asked Tucker about the government’s response — both at the state and federal level — to the New World screwworm.
Plus, Christian weighs in on Republican railroad commissioner nominee Bo French and his often-controversial rhetoric, and whether he would support changing the name of the Texas Railroad Commission to better reflect its current responsibilities. The commission no longer has authority or jurisdiction over railroads and instead primarily regulates oil and natural gas.
About the show
East Texas Politics on East Texas Now streams Fridays at 6:30 p.m. with an encore presentation Sundays at 10 a.m. Viewers can watch at kltv.com/live or using the free KLTV or KTRE apps on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, or Android TV. The show will also be available on demand after the Friday night stream.
About the host
Blake Holland is a news anchor and reporter for KLTV and KTRE. He anchors East Texas’ most-watched newscasts at 5 and 6 p.m. Since joining KLTV and KTRE in 2018, Holland has covered national political conventions, presidential visits, and interviewed gubernatorial and presidential candidates, plus extensive reporting on regional political news including weekly coverage of Smith County Commissioners Court.
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