It may sound redundant, but I feel that it should be said as much as possible: don’t get caught up in the flash of an election.
In May, voters will have some very big decisions to make about the way our city, school districts, and college district will be run in Amarillo. There are lots of good options running for a number of offices, and voters should be excited about their field to choose from this year.
The one thing that concerns me though is while there are already yard signs on the streets in Amarillo, I know what is coming. I know certain candidates (in many cases, the incumbents) will soon start dumping boatloads of cash into the races. There will be a lot of money spent, but it seems that none of that money will actually be spent to address matters of substance. Instead, much of the money will be spent fluffing up a person’s image or attacking an opponent with some ridiculous innuendo.
Voter cannot control what kind of information will be thrown at them this May, but they can control how they react to the candidates. While many candidates will try to make themselves look politician-like, voters should instead look beyond the images at the policy behind the candidates. More than the policy, if candidates have established voting records, those should be inspected. Voters should consider all of the options and determine who matches up best with their positions on policy, not who has the fanciest television commercials or yard signs.
It may be difficult considering the amount of advertising that is about to be put out in Amarillo, but please, consider the issues and records when you go vote this year. Your choices at the ballot box will affect Amarillo for at least the next two years. Please make sure you cast an informed ballot this year.
-Thomas Warren III, Editor-in-Chief
