Gov. Rick Perry's longtime friend and top adviser Jay Kimbrough was abruptly ousted as deputy chancellor of the Texas A&M University System by new chancellor John Sharp, a college buddy of the governor's who became a rival and is now back in the fold. Security was called to escort Kimbrough out after he revealed to senior staff a pocketknife he carries. Perry said nice things about both men and declined to say more, calling it a personnel matter for A&M.
Laura Doll, board chair for the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the state grid operator, announced that she plans to leave the board at the beginning of 2012 to pursue a career opportunity in California. Doll, a former executive with the California Public Utilities Commission and the California Power Authority, has served on the ERCOT board since June 2010 and as chair since January 2011.
ERCOT also selected three new board members, subject to approval by the ERCOT members and the Public Utility Commission: Craven Crowell of Knoxville, TN; Karl V. Pfirrmann of Greensburg, PA; and Judy Walsh of Alto, NM. Crowell has 25 years of experience in federal government services, including serving as chair of the Tennessee Valley Authority. Pfirrmann is a former executive for PJM Interconnection in Norristown, PA, including terms as executive vice president and as interim president and CEO. Walsh was appointed by Texas Governor George W. Bush as commissioner for the Public Utility Commission and served from 1995 to 2001 before leaving the state.
Gov. Rick Perry appointed three members to the Texas State Technical College System Board of Regents. Joe Gurecky of Rosenberg is owner and board chairman of Gurecky Manufacturing Services, and former mayor and councilmember for the City of Rosenberg. John Hatchel of Woodway is a retired deputy assistant city manager of the City of Waco. Joe Hearne of Dallas is facilities coordinator of Pilgrim Rest Missionary Baptist Church, and retired quality assurance engineering and supply chain manager of Elcan Optical Technologies.
The governor also appointed Rolando Pablos of Olmos Park and reappointed Ken Anderson Jr. of Dallas to the Public Utility Commission. Pablos is an attorney in private practice and a senior advisor of SNR Denton; he had considered a run for the state Senate until Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, decided to seek another term. Anderson is a current commissioner of the Public Utility Commission, and is a former corporate and securities attorney in private practice.
Justice Ann Crawford McClure has become the first female chief justice of the Texas 8th Court of Appeals in El Paso. Gov. Rick Perry appointed McClure, who will assume her new role on Oct. 12, when current Chief Justice David Wellington Chew steps down. McClure has served on the court since 1995.