Robert Black, longtime political insider, named chief of staff for Gov. Greg Abbott
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Gov. Greg Abbott has tapped longtime political insider Robert Black as his chief of staff, a move that is something of a reunion dating back to the governor's first campaign for Texas attorney general more than two decades ago.
Black, who will take over effective July 22 for the departing Gardner Pate as the point person for the day-to-day operations of the governor's office, most recently was vice president for public affairs for the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. He started that role as part of the leadership overhaul of the state's electric grid operator in the wake of the widespread and sustained power failures during the deadly winter storm in February 2021.
“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 announcing the appointment.
Black arrived on the Texas political scene as the press secretary for the state Republican Party in the late 1990s. He was named communications director for Abbott during the 2002 election cycle when the then-Texas Supreme Court justice at first announced he would run for lieutenant governor but then switched to the attorney general's race.
During Rick Perry's years as governor, Black was frequently part of his entourage. Early on, he was Perry's press secretary, and later he was Perry's communications director. He was deputy communications director for Perry's failed bid for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.
After Perry declined to seek a fourth term in the state's highest elected office in 2014, Black reunited with Abbott and was a senior adviser for his first campaign for governor.
Before joining ERCOT, Black was vice president of external affairs for American Electric Power Texas.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Former GOP operative Robert Black named Greg Abbott's chief of staff
