Yeah, we admit it, we don't have a photo of Robert Black. But here's his office.

“Let me guess who the Austin Chronicle is going to say is my replacement. Genghis Khan?”

When thinking about Robert Black, the soon-to-be-former-communications-director for Gov. Rick Perry, GSOH isn’t necessarily the first acronym that the Texas media associates with him. But a very relaxed-sounding Black just called Newsdesk to talk about his decision to leave the governor’s office.

“It was time. I’ve been here for five years,” said Black, who said the fact he has two children aged less than 16 months definitely informed his decision. His final date on the job has yet to be set, but he expects to clear his desk by September 1. When Newsdesk suggested that, if he was looking for someone to fill his podium, Karl Rove is free these days, he just laughed.

He’s still looking at what the future holds, but there was an interesting footnote. When asked whether he thought his proposed communications consultation firm would be taking on election campaigns as clients in this cycle, he thought it was very unlikely. Maybe the war horse really is going out to (relative) pasture.

This article appears in July 11 • 2008.

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The Chronicle's first Culture Desk editor, Richard has reported on Austin's growing film production and appreciation scene for over a decade. A graduate of the universities of York, Stirling, and UT-Austin, a Rotten Tomatoes certified critic, and eight-time Best of Austin winner, he's currently at work on two books and a play.