Tag Archives: Amarillo City Council

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, political news

Candidates shell out big dough for a volunteer job

You’ve got to hand it to the 16 men and women running for five spots on the Amarillo City Council.

They’ve raised and spent a lot of money to obtain what, in effect, is a volunteer job.

Campaign filing reports released Friday show the candidates have raised more than $281,000 in campaign cash for the council. The tab is continuing to climb and the final campaign expense list won’t be released until after the May 9 election.

Think about this for a moment.

These individuals are running for a spot on the council that pays 10 bucks per meeting. The council meets once a week on the third floor of City Hall. So, it’s $40 for most months; $50 for those months that have five Tuesdays in them. They get reimbursed for expenses incurred while doing city business. If they travel, say, to a Texas Municipal League meeting, the city will pay them back for travel expenses.

A couple of dynamics have popped up in the waning days of the campaign.

One of them is the negative campaign being waged by Place 1 incumbent Ellen Robertson Green and challenger Elisha Demerson, a former Potter County commissioner and judge. Another has to be the relative silence in most of the other races, even though the candidates have raised what seems like a lot of cash to spend.

I’ve had friends who are closer to this race than I have been tell me they think some of the incumbents are in trouble. Other friends, though, are suggesting that the turnout will be low — which is typical, sadly — and that the incumbents will skate back into office.

I’m not going to handicap this contest. My reporting job for NewsChannel10.com kind of takes me out of the local political prognostication business.

I will add this observation, however. If the candidates are going to spend nearly 300 grand collectively for an office that basically pays them nothing, then I suspect a serious commitment to public service from all of them — incumbents and challengers alike.

That speaks well for Amarillo.

local news

Candidates go on the air

Panhandle PBS general manager Chris Hays sent this email out to media representatives, so I want to share it here.

I’m excited to inform you about a special edition of “Live Here,” as individuals running for office in the upcoming City of Amarillo elections join us for a Candidates Forum. The special airs tomorrow at 7. 

The 16 mayoral and city council candidates will participate in this exclusive forum with members of Amarillo media-television, radio, print and online-asking the questions. 

Viewers have the opportunity to see the candidates respond, listen to their answers and decide for themselves which ones deserve to represent them. Share your thoughts on each candidate’s answers on Twitter using the hashtag #LiveHerePBS. 

Here’s Panhandle PBS blogger John Kanelis’ preview of the forum. 

That’s public television truly serving the public. Be an informed voter before you head for the booth (and you will head to the booth, right?). Tune in Thursday, April 2 at 7 p.m. for this special edition of Live Here…”City Elections 2015: A Candidate’s Forum.”

OK, I just left in the part about the blog I had written about that Panhandle PBS posted earlier.

But the crux of this post is to drive home an important point that I’ve sought to make on High Plains Blogger as well as the blog I write for Panhandle PBS. It is that the local elections matter more than elections at any level.

Sixteen residents of Amarillo have offered themselves as candidates for Amarillo City Council and for mayor of our fine city. Their commitment to doing something positive for the city is demonstrated merely in their declaring their intention to run for public office. The offices of council member and mayor are essentially volunteer positions; we pay these folks $10 per weekly meeting, plus whatever expenses they might incur doing business on behalf of the city.

Why not, then, demonstrate our own commitment to the city simply by listening to what they have to say at the televised candidate forum and then voting on the candidates of our choice when the time comes?

Once more, for the record, I’ll simply point out that the message of turning out for local elections should resonate far beyond Amarillo’s corporate border. Wherever you live, in whatever city, you need to pay attention to what your fellow neighbors have to say when they seek public office.

Do not let your next-door neighbor, or the folks across town, decide this election for you.

Citizenship works better when more people — not fewer of them — get involved in the government process.

It starts with voting.

 

local news

Why do these elections matter?

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Panhandle PBS, the public TV station based in Amarillo College, is going to present a couple of compelling public affairs programs in the coming weeks that require voters to pay attention.

They’re going to focus on the upcoming municipal election to take place. They’re going to try to drive home a critical point about this election. It is this: No level of government has more of a direct impact on citizens’ lives than the local level, which is why it is imperative for voters to get — and stay — in engaged in the process of selecting the people who govern us.

Full disclosure: Panhandle PBS employs me as a freelance blogger to comment on public affairs TV programming, but I’m doing this little piece independently.

I feel strongly — no, very strongly — about the importance of getting engaged in these elections.

“Live Here” is a series of public affairs broadcasts that Panhandle PBS is running. The March 26 segment will include interviews with former Amarillo mayors and council members about the job required of them and how to get residents more involved with the local electoral process.

On April 2, “Live Here” will play host to a candidate forum featuring all 16 City Council and mayoral candidates.

Both shows air at 7 p.m.

This is a big deal.

Voter turnout for these local elections is beyond poor. It’s abysmal, dismal, disgraceful, shameful, awful … name the pejorative adjective and it fits. Single-digit percentage turnouts are the norm around here. How can that be?

The turnout boosted a bit in 2011 when we elected a new mayor after Debra McCartt decided to step away. Every so often, the city puts a referendum on the ballot that boosts turnout; the most recent one involved banning smoking indoors.

I recall a stand-alone measure in 1996 that asked voters whether to allow the sale of publicly owned Northwest Texas Hospital to a private health-care provider. It drew a 22 percent turnout and the city was utterly ecstatic over that response. Ecstatic when fewer than one voter out of four actually voted. Good grief.

Municipal elections always are important. They have direct impacts on our lives. They determine how much we pay in taxes to fund the services we demand each day. The municipal candidates are vying for a chance to set that policy — and we need to be paying serious attention to what these people have to say.

Public television is going to provide a forum for residents to listen in and hear what these folks are telling us.

Let’s pay attention.

 

local news

Amarillo facing potentially hot election

Amarillo’s municipal elections have this history of dismal, abysmal voter turnouts.

Something tells me the turnout this coming May 9 might just be, oh, low to middlin’. Could it become seriously busy? Let’s allow the campaigns to play out.

Five candidates are running for Place 4 on the council, the seat now held by Ron Boyd, who’s not running for election; Boyd was appointed to the seat after the death of Councilman Jim Simms.

Five more candidates are running for Place 3, currently occupied by Councilwoman Lilia Escajeda, who is running for re-election.

As I look at the lineup, though, perhaps the most intriguing matchup occurs in the race for Place 1. Incumbent Ellen Robertson Green will run against Elisha Demerson, the former Potter County judge and the first African-American ever elected to a countywide seat in Potter County.

Demerson is a worthy challenger, but he would be more worthy if he had been active in city affairs before deciding to run for Green’s council seat. Still, the gentleman has name identification, as does Green.

All told, the ballot will contain 16 names. Many of them have been involved in municipal political affairs. Most of them are newcomers to the City Hall game.

What’s driving the interest? Best guess is it’s downtown redevelopment and the hiccup that occurred when Wallace Bajjali, the city’s one-time master developer, vaporized into thin air in January. WB’s disappearance left the city to take care of three key projects itself — a downtown convention hotel, a parking garage and a multipurpose entertainment venue … aka a ballpark.

There’s been considerable discussion about the ballpark in particular and whether it’s a good fit for the city. My own view is that the city has come up with a great concept for downtown. The execution of that concept, though, has been clouded a bit by Wallace Bajjali’s disappearing act.

My fondest hope for the upcoming election — so far, at least — is that the turnout will be much greater than the single-digit events that have occurred all too frequently.

If the city is roiling with controversial issues, then it’s good to have as many voters as possible taking part in the most fundamental aspect of living in a free society: casting your ballot for whom you want to lead our city.

 

local news

Time to revisit smoking ban?

Recently, I had lunch with a friend at a downtown Amarillo restaurant.

The diner has been around for many years. I walked in, greeted my friend Gary, who then said, “Sorry about the cigarette smoke in here.”

Yes, the place smelled of smoke. The smoking section was separate from the rest of the place, but the “aroma” was distinct and, to be candid, quite disgusting.

It got me thinking. Amarillo has referred indoor smoking bans twice to voters. The referenda failed both times.

Is it time to revisit the issue? I would say “yes.”

https://www.facebook.com/TobaccoFreeAMA?fref=nf

The Amarillo City Council has a physician among its members. Dr. Brian Eades delivers babies for a living and he’s well-versed on certain hazards to people’s health. I would hope Dr. Eades could take the lead in promoting a push to make indoor smoking illegal. Yes, I mean require businesses to end it.

I totally understand that most businesses in Amarillo ban smoking already. Almost all new restaurants are non-smoking establishments.

But when you walk into a time-honored place, such as the one my friend and I visited the other day, you still get to whiff the odor of cigs in the back room.

I quit smoking cold turkey just short of 35 years ago. The older I get the more militant I become about smoking.

I understand the hazards of second-hand smoke and reject efforts to dismiss those hazards.

Amarillo’s governing council has a real-life medical doctor serving the residents of this city. It’s time to speak out, loudly, against this hazard to public health — and to vote once again on banning smoking indoors everywhere in the city.

 

 

 

local news

'Another rich white guy' takes office

The comment at the end of the Amarillo Globe-News’s online story said plenty about the appointment of Ron Boyd to the Amarillo City Council seat vacated by the death of the late Councilman Jim Simms.

“At least it’s not another rich white guy,” the comment said, the writer’s tongue no doubt planted in his or her cheek.

Boyd’s been on the council before. He’s back now to serve the remainder of Simms’s term. Much to my chagrin, at least, he’s said he won’t seek election to a full two-year term next year.

Too bad for that.

I had wanted the city to find someone who would seek election. I also suggested that Mayor Paul Harpole should concentrate his search on the north side of the city, perhaps looking through the Heights neighborhood, for a qualified individual to serve.

There’s been plenty of discussion over many years about the lack of representation on the council from the north side of the city. Simms’s death and the vacancy it created provided the city with a great chance to give that side of town a representative on the governing body.

Instead, Harpole and the council played it “safe” by putting Boyd back in the hot seat.

I like and respect Ron  Boyd. I enjoyed working with him when he served on the council before while I was working for the newspaper. However, respectfully speaking of course, Boyd is old news. He’ll take up space on the council until next spring, then will give way to someone else elected from the city at-large.

Therein lies one of the city government aspects I’ve come to believe needs changing: the city’s at-large system of electing its council members. My heart has changed on that one, as I now would favor a revamping of the city’s voting plan that allows for a more equitable distribution of representation on the council.

I doubt strongly we’ll have it after next year’s election.

local news, political news

Don't pick a place-setter, Mr. Mayor

Amarillo’s mayor has been given an actual task to perform with the death of City Councilman Jim Simms.

Paul Harpole will go through his grief over the loss of Simms, who cast a far larger shadow over this city than his short physical stature would suggest.

Then he’ll get to select the next councilman to sit at Place 4.

Here’s some advice, Mr. Mayor, from one of your constituents — me: Don’t pick a place-setter, someone who’ll just serve the remainder of Simms’s term and then walk away. Find someone who’ll run for election next year when the entire council faces voters.

The city has some key decisions coming up regarding downtown revitalization. There will be, for example, a proposal for an extreme makeover of the Civic Center, which likely will require a citywide vote. The city needs five council members with a serious commitment to standing behind whatever vote they cast on that notion.

The city charter doesn’t give the mayor a lot of actual power, given that he or she is just one of five council members representing the same citywide constituency as the rest of the council. All of them select the city manager, who does virtually all the heavy lifting at City Hall.

This time the mayor gets to make the call all by himself — I presume after consulting with constituent groups, his colleagues on the council and with potential candidates for the post.

One more thing, Mr. Mayor: You might think about concentrating your search in the areas of the city where residents have complained about “underrepresentation” on the City Council. The North Heights comes to mind.

Good luck, Mr. Mayor. You’ve got a big job ahead.

 

local news, medical news

R.I.P., Jim Simms

Sad news broke today in Amarillo.

Jim Simms has died at the age of 73. He’d suffered from a degenerative lung disease that, as I understood it, was similar to cystic fibrosis. He struggled with an oxygen tank over the past several years.

The sadness comes because the city has lost a serious public servant, someone who fought hard on behalf of what he thought was right the city he loved.

Jim was a friend. He was as energetic a public servant as any I’ve ever known over more than three decades as a journalist. His enthusiasm was boundless.

I made his acquaintance during my first year in Amarillo. I arrived in early 1995 and a serious debate was ginning up about the potential sale of Northwest Texas Hospital, which was owned by Amarillo taxpayers and managed by the Amarillo Hospital District; Jim Simms served on that hospital board.

The AHD put the hospital up for sale and then accepted sealed bids from companies seeking to run the hospital. The district eventually accepted a bid from Universal Health Systems and then put a non-binding referendum up for a vote in 1996 that asked: Should the city sell NWTH? The vote came in decisively in favor of the sale.

Simms became one of the key voices promoting the sale.  That’s when I got to know about his tenacity and vigor.

He’d served on the Amarillo school district board of trustees and since 2005 had served on the Amarillo City Council.

Jim enjoyed a successful business career and then sought to give back to the community. The city’s newspaper named him its Man of the Year.

Simms wasn’t always genteel in his approach to debating public policy, but he surely meant what he said.

You knew where he stood and that, I submit, is a testament to this man’s honesty.

The city has suffered a big loss.

 

Uncategorized

Yes, reel in payday lenders

Well, what do you know about that? Amarillo City Council is considering an ordinance that regulates payday lenders.

The council had a public hearing today and another is set for next week.

I do hope the council agrees to watch these lenders closely.

Some of the provisions include limiting loans to no more than 20 percent of the borrower’s monthly income; auto title loans would be for no more than 3 percent of the borrower’s gross annual income or 70 percent of the vehicle’s value.

It’s about time the city took up this issue.

I’ve long considered payday lenders to be only a cut — maybe two — above loan sharks. They prey on those looking for quick cash, those who’ve gotten themselves turned upside down financially. They charge significantly greater interest rates than, say, more established lending institutions — you know, banks and credit unions.

What’s equally interesting is that the Amarillo governing council is actually considering a government-mandated regulation. Our city long has employed a hands-off attitude on these matters. Keep government out of legal private businesses’ affairs, the mantra had been.

An ordinance mandating a ban on indoor smoking? Forget about it. Businesses will do it themselves. Put the issue for a vote, the city decided — twice. Voters rejected the ordinance narrowly both times.

Well, a payday lending regulation would help protect those who can become victims of those with cash to throw around while charging the borrowers a huge interest rate in return.

I consider the City Council’s consideration of this ordinance to be a step forward for the cause of consumer protection.

Enact the ordinance.