I keep rolling around in my noggin the notion of the “change” that the May 2015 municipal election brought to Amarillo City Hall.
Specifically, I keep thinking about how the governing City Council changed so dramatically with the election of three new members.
Not a single one of the candidates I wanted elected to the council made the cut in last year’s election. Two incumbents got tossed out by challengers. A third incumbent was a place-holder and didn’t run for election after the council appointed him to finish out the late Jim Simms’ term.
Councilmen Randy Burkett, Elisha Demerson and Mark Nair all promised to be agents of “change.” They brought it, all right.
To my way of thinking it’s been a mixed blessing — at best!
I’m a bit torn by what has happened at City Hall. On one hand, I don’t mind spirited debate and dissent. I do mind, though, when the debate promotes dysfunction and discord among the governing body.
There’s been a bit of distrust expressed by Mayor Paul Harpole at the conduct of at least two of his colleagues on the council. He stormed recently out of an executive session because he said he didn’t “trust the process” of discussing the selection of someone to succeed his sole ally on the council, Dr. Brian Eades, who’s planning to leave Amarillo this summer to set up a medical practice in Colorado.
From my perch, there appears to be a large divide among council members: the Agents of Change vs. the Status Quo.
I keep asking myself, was the change really necessary?
The city is rocking along. It has the lowest unemployment rate of any metro area in Texas; residential construction has been booming; businesses are expanding; sales tax revenue is up; the city is (or was) functioning well; it was continuing to purchase vast amounts of water for future use and growth.
And oh yes, downtown revitalization was proceeding at a brisk pace.
Most of those who voted this past year, though, said they wanted “change.”
I respect the results of the election, even though I don’t agree with them.
As for the change that has arrived, I am waiting to be persuaded that it’s all for the good of the city. We need a new city manager and a new chief of police. The city is seeking to land a Class Double AA baseball franchise. It needs a blueprint for a new ballpark to be built downtown.
It’s my fervent hope my fears are unfounded that the new guys who are running the City Hall dog-and-pony show know what they’re doing.
However, they’ve got to show me that’s the case.