Republican Sid Miller has a sandpaper personality and has made some troubling missteps on the campaign trail, including calling the Civil War the “war of northern aggression.” Despite that, he is the most qualified candidate running for agriculture commissioner.
Miller’s Democratic opponent, Jim Hogan, is basically a no-show. Even Hogan was shocked he won the primary over better candidates. “When I started, I didn’t really have a clue that I would win,” Hogan told the Cleburne Times-Review last May in one of his rare public statements. Hogan didn’t respond to interview requests or fill out our online questionnaire.
Miller understands the issues and the Agriculture Department. He has practical ideas for water conservation and favors hiring additional inspectors to prevent the sort of tragedy that befell West when stored fertilizer exploded.
Miller’s years in the Legislature were marked by friction with people in both parties. He says what some took as divisiveness was toughness and pledged to work with anyone to accomplish reasonable policy.
Miller, 59, also walked back his statement on the “war of northern aggression,” saying he no longer uses that reference because he understands it offends some people. He stood by his campaign treasurer, Ted Nugent, but allowed that Nugent has made a couple of “bobbles.”
Whatever his shortcomings, Miller, of Stephenville, has a vision for the state’s Agriculture Department that his opponent hasn’t demonstrated.
The race also includes Green Party candidate Kenneth Kendrick and Libertarian David (Rocky) Palmquist.
