We’ve all suffered from motion sickness while watching the new president of the United States take command of the federal government.

Will there be a similarly rough ride at Amarillo City Hall when the new City Council takes over after the May 6 election? Oh, I don’t expect it. Then again, I didn’t expect the outcome we got after the 2015 municipal election … let alone the outcome we witnessed just this past November when Donald J. Trump got elected president!

However, my hope springs eternal at many levels.

We’re going to get a new majority on the council. One of the incumbents who’s not seeking re-election, Place 3 Councilman Randy Burkett, has been a key player in the rocky ride we’ve been through at City Hall. That he’s leaving office after just one term bodes well for calmer times. He’s been a disappointment to many Amarillo residents, although I acknowledge that many others view him as a champion for their point of view — whatever it is.

With a new chief administrator on the job, City Manager Jared Miller, it also is my sincere hope that the new council will let him do the job he was hired to do.

It is to run the city, to ensure that each department functions well, to hold department heads accountable and to make sure the public’s money is being spent prudently and efficiently.

I look forward eventually to meeting the new manager. Since I’m now a former full-time journalist, I’m likely to have to pursue that opportunity myself. I pledge to do so.

As for the council, I am hoping for a more tranquil atmosphere than what we’ve witnessed for much of the past two years.

Voters got angry two years ago. The source of that anger continues to baffle me, given the city’s economic vitality and the tangible progress that has occurred on many fronts. But they were steamed enough to oust two incumbents; a third incumbent didn’t seek a new term, so voters selected a new majority two years ago.

One of the new guys, Mark Nair, then decided to ask for Jarret Atkinson’s resignation as city manager. It took Atkinson a few weeks, but he bailed.

The city then brought in an interim manager, Terry Childers, who took no time at all to demonstrate his ability to turn a simple mistake into a full-blown controversy; I refer to the episode in which Childers misplaced his briefcase, called the emergency dispatch center and bullied a dispatcher over the phone. It didn’t get any better for Childers, who eventually quit after muttering into a hot mic that a constituent is a “stupid son of a b****.”

There was open bickering between council members. There were instances of a council member — Burkett — speaking out of turn regarding negotiations to lure a baseball franchise to Amarillo. Mayor Paul Harpole walked out of an executive session because of a supposed lack of trust in council members.

We’re getting a new bunch this time around. May the new majority offer a semblance of tranquility for a municipal government that likely has exhausted its motion-sickness remedies.