Tag Archives: Amarillo election

local news, political news

Don't presume anything, Mr. Rogers

“Dear John,” the form letter that arrived today started.

“Thank you for your support during the recent general election. Judy and I can’t express to you enough how much your encouragement and prayers kept us moving forward. We are proud of our positive campaign and thankful for every vote that came our way.”

The writer went on some more … blah, blah, blah.

He signed it “Steve,” as in Steve Rogers, candidate for Amarillo City Council, Place 4.

I wonder why I got the letter. I didn’t vote for him in the May 9 municipal election. I don’t know if I’ll vote for him in the June 13 runoff between him and Mark Nair, who finished at the top of a crowded field of candidates running for the fourth place on the City Council. Just so you know, my vote went to one of the other candidates.

I’m inclined to vote against him just because he seems to presume so much about the “encouragement and prayers” I allegedly sent his way.

This note reminds me of another note I got some years ago. A member of my family got married. He’s the son of one of my first cousins. I met him once — I think — when he was a very young boy. So, he married this girl on the East Coast and several weeks later, my wife and I receive a note thanking us for the “very special gift” we sent them.

We didn’t send them a gift. My wife and I laugh about it to this day.

So, candidates, please take to avoid presuming too much about the constituents you seek to serve.

Some of us might tattle on you.

local news

Status quo gets thumped at Amarillo City Hall

Change is a-comin’ to Amarillo City Hall.

Mayor Paul Harpole was re-elected tonight, but by a narrower margin to which he’d been accustomed.

Elisha Demerson defeated incumbent Ellen Green in the race for City Council’s Place 1. This result disappoints me. I’ve said it before, but Green was my “favorite” council member. She spoke candidly, bluntly and truthfully on a whole array of key issues.

Brian Eades will return to his Place 2 council seat. Good call there.

Randy Burkett won election to Place 3, defeating incumbent Lilia Escajeda and several others, while avoiding a runoff. More on him in a moment.

Mark Nair and Steve Rogers appear headed for a runoff in Place 4, the seat vacated by incumbent Ron Boyd, who was appointed to the council upon the death of Jim Simms; Boyd chose not to seek election.

I’ve had to ask myself during this campaign: What in the world is so wrong with the city that got folks seemingly so angry? The city appears to be in good financial shape. Its infrastructure is under renovation at many levels: street repair, utility line installation and repair, highway construction.

I’m one who believes in the concept that’s been presented for the city’s downtown revitalization. That concept is moving forward, although perhaps more slowly than some of us would like. The demise of Wallace Bajjali, the former master downtown developer, doesn’t appear to have put the city in a huge financial bind.

And yet …

Change is on its way.

***

Which brings me to perhaps the most stunning development of tonight’s election: Burkett’s thumping of the field that included an incumbent who, as near as I could tell, didn’t do anything to offend anyone.

It was revealed late in the campaign that Burkett had put some commentary on his personal Facebook page that some folks found offensive. I’m one of them who took serious issue with some of the political bitterness that Burkett expressed. Some of it seemed to border on racist content. He denied any racist intent and said he’s not a racist.

I also heard a couple of his TV spots in which he uttered two clichés: It’s time for a change and it’s time to run city government “like a business.”

What the bleep does it mean to run a government “like a business”?

Successful businesses are run by chief executive officers who make command decisions. Yes, they might consult with employees, but then again, they might not. They are responsible for the success of a business and take the hickey when things go badly.

A number of residents out here who think the city should put some key decisions to a vote. Is that how you run a business, by asking employees to vote on every big decision you make?

Burkett called for change. It looks as though we’re about to get it with three non-incumbents set to take office.

To what end, and for what purpose, remains a mystery.

 

local news, political news

Early votes are in: Turnout looks so-so

The early votes have been tabulated for the upcoming Amarillo City Council election.

The numbers do not bode well for a barn-burning turnout. Officials say 7,992 votes were cast early.

Let’s do some math here.

The city is home to roughly 90,000 people who are eligible to vote, give or take. That means about 8 percent of the total voting population has cast ballots. The question now becomes: How many more will do their civic duty on Saturday, aka Election Day?

My experience with early voting — and I don’t believe in voting early if I don’t have to — I that it means only that more people vote early. Fewer of them vote on the actual Election Day. It hasn’t boosted turnout by itself.

My friend Chris Hays, general manager of Panhandle PBS, put together a great video promoting the need to vote. I’ve posted it once already on this blog. Here it is again:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jJQeEQH6pc

The election has been contentious at times. It has featured some serious accusations of poor prior public service performance. Challengers to the incumbents have said the city is too secretive about its plans for downtown’s revival; incumbents have answered that the city has made downtown redevelopment plans available for public review.

There’s an element of folks in the city who want to see a wholesale rejection of the incumbents who are seeking re-election; four of the five are on the ballot.

Local media have published plenty of letters and guest columns hyping candidates and causes.

I hope for a big turnout on Saturday, right along with everyone else.

That ol’ trick knee of mine, though, tells me it’s going to fall a good bit short of what we all should want: greater — if not full — participation in representative democracy.

local news

Perception meets reality, Mr. Mayor

Amarillo Mayor Paul Harpole is a good man who I believe is motivated by the best intentions.

However, for him to dismiss concerns about whether a new town-hall policy somehow isn’t driven by politics leaves me wondering whether he truly understands how some people can perceive what looks so patently obvious.

The mayor is facing a re-election fight next month. So, on the eve of that balloting, he announces a series of town hall meeting with constituents. He wants to hear their concerns. He wants to act on them, if possible. He is all ears. He’s an open book. He’s receptive to people’s gripes. He wants to let people talk for as long as they want, without the restrictions they face during regular City Council meetings.

Roy McDowell, who’s running against the mayor, isn’t buying it fully. He thinks Harpole is doing this as some sort of political stunt.

Is that how he and some others around the city perceive it? If they do, does that become some form of reality in their mind? Yes and yes.

Which brings me back to my initial point. Is the mayor tone deaf?

Harpole says he’s got meetings scheduled through the rest of the year and that whether he continues with them will depend on how responsive residents are to his outreach.

The mayor and City Manager Jarrett Atkinson conducted the first town hall meeting this week. They answered questions about city issues ranging from downtown improvement plans to street repair. I applaud them both for making themselves available to residents.

However, as the great Boston Red Sox slugger the late Ted Williams used to say about hitting a baseball, “Timing is everything.”

So it is with politics.