Senator Kel Seliger needs to leave his political vendetta at the door and get back to the job of legislating in Austin.
This week, Seliger drew criticism after he made “lewd comments” directed toward a female aide for Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick. Essentially, Seliger told a radio host that he suggested the aide kiss his “back end,” which led to his removal as chairman of a committee. Seliger later attempted to defend himself, saying he should have directed his comments toward Patrick, but then said his battle with Patrick was not because of his comments, but because he “stood up” for his district.
If Seliger was actually standing up for his district, he would be in Austin legislating, and not picking fights with Dan Patrick.
In a nutshell, the comments made by Seliger stemmed from his disappointment over being removed as chairman of the Senate Higher Education Committee. However, Patrick still appointed Mr. Seliger as chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, which actually would seem to be Seliger’s natural fit, coming from a district that depends heavily on agriculture. It seems disingenuous for Seliger to talk about agriculture on the campaign trail, if he won’t show any kind of interest in working in that field at the Capitol after he is elected. I understand agriculture might not be what Seliger wants to campaign on in 2022, but due to its importance to his home district, you would figure he would be thrilled to have that chairmanship.
Apparently not.
Seliger has had well-documented fights with Patrick in the past, but the thing to remember is he was not elected to fight with Dan Patrick. He was elected to represent the people of the 31st District of Texas. If he wanted to battle with Patrick, perhaps he should have run for Patrick’s lieutenant governor job. Instead, he decided to use his position as a representative to pick a fight for his own political notoriety.
The Senator needs to roll up his sleeves and actually get back to the job of legislating and representing his constituents. If Seliger is more interested in playing politics than actually doing his job, maybe it’s time for Seliger to resign and let the 31st District have a special election to choose someone who actually will represent us and our crucially important agricultural community.
-Thomas Warren III, Editor-in-Chief
Seliger/Photo by Campaign