BSEACD chooses Sledge Fancher lobby firm

The Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District moved to negotiate a contract with lobbyist firm Sledge Fancher to represent its interests in the upcoming Texas legislative session. District board members approved the firm on a 3-1 vote, as they were both attracted by and wary of lobbyist Brian Sledge’s reputation as a “gunslinger.” Sledge already represents a number of groundwater conservation districts, and district members said Sledge claimed that not a bill passes that he doesn’t want passed — conversely, not a bill is killed that he doesn’t have a part in killing. Craig Smith, the lone dissenting vote, said, “That didn’t sit very well with me … Is he going to work for us or work for himself?”