An amazing thing has just transpired in the upcoming election for Amarillo City Commission.
Only one candidate filed to run against any of the five incumbents whose names will be on the ballot. Just one single individual.
Why the amazement? I would have thought many candidates might be stampeding to City Hall to file, given all the noise about some of the commission’s decisions in the past couple of years.
Silly me.
http://amarillo.com/news/local-news/2013-03-01/hopefuls-file-near-deadline
The lone candidate is 32-year-old Terry Van Baughman, who’s filed to run against Mayor Paul Harpole. Good for Van Baughman, who I don’t know but who he is but he is to be commended for standing up for his view of good city government, which I hope we’ll learn more about as the campaign unfolds.
The other four commission members, though, are getting a free ride back into office for another two years. It puzzles me a bit, though, to understand why.
It’s not that commissioners have done a bad job the past two years. I think they’ve done well, but some of the decisions they’ve made have caused some teeth-gnashing among the vocal minority of residents who complain about seemingly everything.
* The commission enacted a ban on the use of handheld cellphones while driving their motor vehicles. Some folks have been circulating petitions trying to get the matter put to a vote.
* Commissioners decided to expand the deployment of red-light cameras at intersections around the city, another decision that has cause grief among the complainers.
* The city allowed tax abatements to businesses that were relocating in the downtown district, most notably a Toot ‘N Totum convenience store that’s under construction. That decision fueled complaints among other business owners ticked off that they don’t get that kind of break on their property taxes.
* The city is moving ahead with plans to redevelop downtown, even though there’s been painfully slow movement on any tangible construction projects. Yes, the Potter County Courthouse complex has reopened – and it looks nice; but that’s a county project.
I’ve long argued for competitive local races. And this year should have produced plenty of them at City Hall. The 2011 municipal race did feature a lot of folks running, but many of them were drawn by the absence of three incumbents seeking re-election to the City Commission.
This year, it seems the task of unseating incumbent commission members is too daunting, even for the gripers among us.
Congratulations to the commissioners who have no one facing them. As for the Harpole-Van Baugham race for mayor, let’s hope it sheds plenty of light on both men seeking to become the city’s titular head of government.