In a surprise summer announcement, Secretary of State Phil Wilson has announced he’s quitting to join Luminant, the energy production arm of Energy Future Holdings Corp., formerly TXU Corp. Less than a month ago, he was in New York ringing the NASDAQ closing bell and touting the strength of the Texas economy. When he steps down, he’ll only just have scraped in a year in the office (July 1, 2007 – July 6, 2008). He’ll start with Luminant as senior vice-president of public affairs on July 7.
In a press release, Wilson said, “I have been honored to serve in this role for the people of Texas and am proud of the accomplishments we achieved during our time in office; overseeing the largest primary in Texas history, being part of bringing thousands of new jobs to Texas, and investing in our states future employers and technologies.”
No word yet on whether he’ll be standing down as Gov. Rick Perry‘s designee on the Texas Enterprise Fund or the Emerging Technology Fund. Wilson has long been one of the closest of the Perry posse (Yesterday, Perry called him “a trusted advisor and dear friend of mine and Anita’s for many years”), having formerly served as his director of communications and deputy chief of staff. Before that, he was a key staffer for former senator Phil Gramm.
This article appears in June 13 • 2008.
