Gov. Abbott Appoints Insider Robert Black as Chief of Staff

Gov. Greg Abbott has chosen Robert Black, a longtime political insider, as his new chief of staff, effective July 22. Black replaces Gardner Pate as the governor's office day-to-day operations point person.

Black's most recent role was as vice president for public affairs at the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) [1], following the leadership overhaul after the fatal winter storm in February 2021, which caused widespread power failures.

"With over three decades of political, government, and corporate experience, Robert Black's wealth of knowledge and deep understanding of Texas will be instrumental in our efforts to build a bigger, better Texas," Abbott said in a news release Monday [2].

Black entered Texas politics in the late 1990s as the press secretary for the state Republican Party. He joined Abbott's team as communications director during the 2002 election cycle when Abbott first ran for lieutenant governor, and later switched to the attorney general's race.

Black was also closely associated with former Gov. Rick Perry, serving as his press secretary and communications director. He was deputy communications director for Perry's 2012 Republican presidential nomination campaign.

In 2014, Black rejoined Abbott as a senior advisor for his first campaign for governor, after Perry declined to seek reelection.

Prior to his role at ERCOT, Black was vice president of external affairs for American Electric Power Texas [3].

References:

1. ERCOT Website: https://www.ercot.com/
2. Gov. Abbott's News Release: https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-appoints-robert-black-as-chief-of-staff
3. American Electric Power Texas Website: https://www.aeptexas.com/