Former city attorney Marcus Norris announced this week that he is planning to run for district judge for the 320th District Court. Norris' candidacy comes as a surprise to many, however, there are many things that Amarillo residents may have forgotten about Norris' tenure in Amarillo.
Marcus Norris served as city attorney for the City of Amarillo for over a decade. In that capacity, he oversaw many legal operations of the City of Amarillo. He is also responsible for several of the policies that we now have today.
According to some of those who were present at the time, Norris is one of the people responsible for making petitioning the City Council for an election nearly impossible. Norris was also attorney that defended the controversial (and possibly unconstitutional) red light cameras in Amarillo. In addition, Norris was the city attorney who defended the Amarillo Economic Development Corporation's decision to spend $5 million on a project in Dalhart.
Keeping all of these things in mind, perhaps the best example from Norris' tenure at City Hall was his service as the city attorney when the City of Amarillo came under fire for "stealing" the logo of Emaar Properties PJSC. Norris was the attorney during this situation when the City of Amarillo paid thousands of dollars to Double U Marketing to have the company draft a new logo for the City that was eerilly familiar to the logo of an India-based real estate company.
According to records and emails from that time, when Emaar Properties found out that the City was using a nearly identical logo, Norris defended the City's position saying that Emaar's customers were "not likely" to see the logo in Amarillo. Norris also went as far as to ask the company to allow the City of Amarillo to use the logo, which ultimately did not happen.
After the 2015 City of Amarillo elections, Norris left the administration at the City, saying he chose not to provide services to the City of Amarillo. Now Norris works for Underwood Law Firm. As we have reported previously, Underwood Law Firm is the former home of Mayor Ginger Nelson and one of its partners is a manager in a company with downtown real estate investor Joe Bob McCartt. In addition, several of Underwood Law Firm's attorneys were donors to the controversial Amarillo Matters PAC.
While Marcus Norris should be applauded for his years of service to the City of Amarillo, he likely does not have the kind of track record needed to serve voters as District Judge. Instead, voters should look for someone new who can provide fresh ideas to the position.
-Thomas Warren III, Editor-In-Chief
