Have you seen George P. Bush lately?

We hear he's running for re-election as Texas land commissioner, but he's not acting like it. He's been skipping public forums, he's dodging editorial board meetings and he hasn't released a schedule of campaign appearances.

If a man doesn't show up for the job interviews, does he deserve to get hired?

ENDORSEMENTS: The Houston Chronicle editorial board recommends these candidates...

Four years ago, this editorial page enthusiastically supported Bush in his first bid for elected office. We were mightily impressed with his command of the complex issues facing the General Land Office. Anybody who thought this guy was just coasting on his family name was wrong. "George P. Bush is the real deal," we wrote.

Now the real deal has become a real disappointment.

Bush has repeatedly stumbled during his first term in his first elected office. He directed the General Land Office to spend nearly $1 million in taxpayer money to keep at least 40 employees on the payroll for as long as five months after they'd actually quit their jobs, but only if they promised they wouldn't sue Bush or the agency. Three days after a contractor scored a $13.5 million hurricane cleanup contract, Bush's campaign accepted almost $30,000 in contributions from the company's executives.

But his highest profile problem has been his plan to "reimagine" the Alamo. It's an ongoing mess criticized not only by Texas history buffs but also by Republican lawmakers irate about the way it's being managed. Among other problems, Bush played a cynical shell game with state employees, shifting about 60 people over to a taxpayer-funded nonprofit so he could brag that he cut his agency's staff. As one incredulous GOP fundraiser put it, "How do you screw up the Alamo?"

To his credit, months before Hurricane Harvey, Bush wrote President Donald Trump a detailed letter requesting funding for a coastal storm surge barrier. Unfortunately, since then we haven't seen him do much to advance the cause of this critical infrastructure project.

Losing faith in a man who once looked like a rising political star is disillusioning, but voters in the Republican primary for Texas land commissioner should bypass Bush and cast their ballots for Jerry Patterson.

Patterson's done this job before, and he did it well. After serving 12 years in this post, he gave it up to make a losing race for lieutenant governor. The former state senator from Houston pretty much retired after that, but he says he watched in disgust as Bush "cratered" the agency he once managed. Patterson says he tried to recruit somebody else to run, but when nobody else whom he thought was qualified entered the race he decided to do it himself.

"My plan is to return to the land office, fix what needs to be fixed, and retire once again," said Patterson, 71.

Also running in this primary - and showing up for the job interviews - are Davey Edwards, 47, a surveyor from Decatur, and Rick Range, 66, a retired firefighter who seems to know everything there is to know about the Alamo. All three of these candidates are campaigning hard for Republican votes, but Patterson is clearly the best qualified GOP candidate for Texas land commissioner.