Now more than ever, the topic of government employee residency should be discussed in Amarillo.
As we reported on Tuesday, William "Mick" McKamie, city attorney for the City of Amarillo, announced his resignation this morning. McKamie is the long-time city attorney, serving in either an interim or full-time capacity since 2015. However, during that time, McKamie did not live in Amarillo. This created some anger from some citizens who wanted a full-time city attorney living within the city limits.
I think that this is a very important argument and one that has merit. Residents should be served by an official who lives within Amarillo, if that person is employed to a high-ranking job within the City of Amarillo leadership structure. The same thing should go for county positions that are not elected spots and every administrative government job serving a certain locality.
This editorial is not meant to discuss Mr. McKamie's performance as a city attorney, as that should be the opinion of the reader. However, there is strong merit to having high-level government officials living within the city they serve.
Thankfully, Bryan McWilliams, the person who is being appointed to the job in an interim capacity following McKamie's departure is listed in the State Bar of Texas as living in Amarillo. This is a very good thing for residents of Amarillo. While we may not agree with Mr. McWilliams in all of his future actions in the role, we are pleased to see an Amarillo resident serving in the position.
-Thomas Warren III, Editor-In-Chief
