BIG COUNTRY, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – Railroad Commissioner Christi Craddick is one of three candidates running for Texas Comptroller. She says transparency and local growth are key to empowering the next wave of progress across West Texas.

Energy fuels Abilene’s future — and it’s just the beginning

Craddick, who began serving as railroad commissioner in 2012, says the challenges she’s faced in that role have prepared her for the position.

“I know the oil and gas piece, and we’re learning more and more about the rest of the state, and that’s been an exciting piece for me,” Craddick shared. “One of the things I started talking about that I think is really important. We pay taxes to the state, like sales taxes, but we also pay taxes locally. For the last 20 years, we haven’t done what I’m getting ready to tell you. I think we should do it again, which is, go in if you’re getting ready to have a school board bond election, for instance, and audit your school district fiscally, financially, and say, ‘these are where your dollars are going. This is how the dollars are being spent.’ That’s a lot of money you’re asking us for a bond election, for instance, to spend. We want to make sure that local voters have transparency. Know where the dollars are being spent, and then they get to make the decision whether they vote for that bond or not. But I think people want to know where their dollars are going.”

With major developments underway in West Texas, such as a nuclear reactor project at Abilene Christian University and new AI infrastructure, Craddick said keeping communities informed is key.

“It’s finding and making sure that there are good numbers available from the comptroller’s office. If local communities want to give those tax incentives, we can help them understand how that’ll affect their communities. Give them good information, and if we need to walk those communities through the process,” Craddick explained. “One of the things the comptroller does that people forget. We train at that agency, the appraisers in this state. So we all get frustrated when your taxes come out, the appraisals come out. But sometimes those appraisers need better training as well, but making sure that there are good numbers available to all entities so they know how your taxes are going to be affected and what it does to you locally, I think, is very, very important.”

Abilene positioned for national role in nuclear innovation after House vote

Craddick said projects like these have great potential, but success depends on building a strong foundation.

“I think we might get nuclear done sitting in Abilene right now as well. Real opportunity for these micro nuclear plants coming up in the next few years, too. Texas needs to continue to grow, and we want to make sure that we continue to be strong as a state. Energy is a big piece of that, but it’s not the only part. We need to make sure our electricity grid is still online and that we’re continuing not just to bring businesses in, but to make sure that once they get here, they want to stay here too,” Craddick shared.

If elected, Craddick said her first priority would be to give lawmakers a clear picture of the state’s finances.

“That way they can start the budget, have a budget process, but really, even before that, we need to make sure that we’re getting good budget estimates to the legislature,” Craddick shared.

She also plans to strengthen and streamline the audit division.

“I mentioned earlier that our audit division probably needs some streamlining, some training, and so that’d be a division I’d focus on. Look at every single piece of the agency first, because I think it’s hard to audit anybody else until you’ve audited yourself. But audit the agency. See who we’ve got. Do we have people that we need to promote? Do we have some people that we need? Where are dollars being spent?” Craddick added.

An Inside Look: Abilene data center opens doors for facility tour

Craddick also proposes forming a Local Government Efficiency Task Force to review budgets for cities, school districts, and special-purpose entities.

“The comptroller already has the authority to audit local groups, local entities, as well as state agencies. We used to do this 20 years ago. We just haven’t done it in a while, and I think it’s a good thing as another layer to figure out where your tax dollars are going,” Craddick explained. “I don’t think that we should, as an agent of this statewide agency, come in and tell you what to do. I think we ought to make recommendations if there are… Do an audit of where your dollars are being spent, and how you can be more efficient? Are you buying 20 trucks when you really only need 10? Are you spending your dollars in the classroom, or are you spending them on administration? You, the local taxpayer, ought to know where your dollars are going. Once you understand, we will then post that. It’s about transparency.”

As Comptroller, Craddick said she would keep transparency at the forefront.

“Absolutely, you disclose everything. That’s part of the reality; you look at where your dollars are going. It’s a policy issue for the legislature,” Craddick said. “The advocacy piece from any kind of agency is, look, this is where we are. This is how your policies, that you’ve that you voted on, are being implemented. This is what we are doing. Are we doing what you intended, first and foremost? If we aren’t, we need help here.”

Can Proposition 1 power the Big Country’s next wave of job growth?

Reflecting on her years as Railroad Commissioner, Craddick said the most important lessons she’s learned are the value of a strong team and open communication.

“You’ve got to train good people and have good people, because you’re only as good as the people around you, I think, first and foremost. And two, being more transparent. We have upgraded an IT program at the railroad commission very deliberately, so everybody can tell where the wells are by them or the pipelines. So being more transparent with the tax dollars you’ve been given to spend is, I think, the other priority.”

Railroad Commissioner Christi Craddick, current Comptroller Kelly Hancock, and former State Senator Don Huffines are in the Republican primary race for Texas Comptroller.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTAB – BigCountryHomepage.com.