Last week I reported that the head of the Texas Senate, our Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, had released committee assignments for the 86th Regular Session of the Texas Legislature. In reporting such I mentioned that I was not alone in noting that this session’s odd-boy-out was clearly Senator Kel Seliger of Amarillo (SD-31) who lost the gavel of the much lobbied Higher Education Committee and was moved over as chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee.
Simply observing that such happened and mentioning that it was no surprise that it happened to Kel Seliger, no conservative he, was about all of the mention I thought it deserved.
But then, Emma Platoff of the Texas Tribune, reported via Twitter on Friday that she had spoken with Seliger who claimed “many in his district are feeling ‘dismayed and disrespected’” by his being moved to chairman of the ag committee.
SD31’s Kel Seliger
After his whining to the press, Seliger took exception to the spot-on reply quote given the media by Sherry Sylvester who is a key adviser to Dan Patrick.
Sylvester rightly said: “If Senator Seliger believes serving as Chair of the Agriculture Committee — a critical committee for West Texas and all of rural Texas — is beneath him, he should let us know and the Lt. Governor will appoint someone else.”
Seliger then critized Sylvester and said: “I have a recommendation for Ms. (Sherry) Sylvester and her lips and my backend.”
Poor Kel, for all his self-belief and overt arrogance, he has demonstrated once again that he is not nearly as smart as he thinks himself to be and has made himself the first self-promoted sad sack soap opera story of the session.
Sen. Kel Seliger, that sad sack soap opera of the session, has as his biggest problem, bigger than his being a liberal Republican, his spoiled sense of entitlement to get his way whenever and wherever. He’s an arrogant man who can’t work well with others unless they flatter him and give him a wide berth to do as only he pleases.
In his mind he is the only smart one – he fails to see that he is the common denominator in all the scenarios he finds himself upset with.
Lt. Gov. Patrick: Statement on Senator Seliger’s Recent Comments
January 22, 2019
AUSTIN – Lt. Gov. Patrick issued the following statement this afternoon:
“Senator Seliger has been removed as Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee and will not be serving on that Committee. I met with Sen. Seliger earlier today and gave him an opportunity to apologize for a lewd comment he made on radio about a female staffer that has shocked everyone. He had 48 hours to apologize, but failed to do so. He has refused to take responsibility and outrageously, blamed the staffer and said she should be fired. To not be willing to apologize and suggest, somehow, that she had it coming is unimaginable.
“I will appoint a new Agriculture Committee chairman shortly.”
Listener Club member email:
Robert,
I was minding my own business heading to work listening to your show when you brought up the Sad Sack of District 31. I don’t know where to begin with this. Or maybe I do: “many in his district were dismayed and disrespected” by his getting the gavel for the Ag Committee?
I travel up and down I-27 frequently these days between jobs and other business and frequent Amarillo and believe me when I tell you that people are NOT conversing among themselves about what Senate committees Mr. Seliger has or has not been appointed to. I’ll hazard a guess and presume that people in District 31 were not sitting around on the edge of their seats waiting to hear about Mr. Seliger’s committee assignments (as bruising to his ego this fact might be). I would love to know who this “many” is personally. Seriously, who among us out in the real world think about who is chairing what committees in the Senate or the House? I consider myself to be well versed in political matters and even I have great difficulty remembering the finer details such as this.
As you rightly pointed out, shouldn’t it be an honor – or, given the nature of District 31 – obligatory, to have the gavel for the Ag Committee? And STILL Mr. Seliger whines?
From all appearances, it seems we have all known someone like him in our lives – at work, or elsewhere – and enjoy seeing said individual get their comeuppance. It looks to me like this is what happened to Mr. Seliger, and we should all take delight in watching the haughty get what they deserve whenever it happens.
Steven, in Swisher County (can it secede from District 31???)
[Sent before the Lt. Gov. pulled Sad Sack’s gavel.]