Amarillo City Councilwoman Elaine Hays ended 2020 with another vote against an ordinance. Does it matter? Not really.
According to the minutes from the Amarillo City Council’s most recent meeting held on December 17, 2020, Hays voted against Ordinance No. 7832. The ordinance, which was supported by the rest of the City Council, adopted revised fees for Parks and Recreation.
First, let me commend Hays on voting against the item. Whenever a fee increase is brought forward by a local government entity, I tend to oppose fee increases, especially if the increase is unjustified. The fee increases included in the ordinance were modest in some cases and larger in others, but I still saw no real justification for the fee increase approvals. However, while Hays has recently voted against a few tax and fee hikes as a congressional candidate, her record is still one that should be troubling for those who consider themselves to be fiscally responsible.
Hays’ track record on the City Council has consistently been one of rising taxes and eroding rights, in the opinion of this writer. Hays voted for several tax increases, but now wants to project a candidacy of fiscal responsibility. Hays voted to add more red light cameras to the streets in Amarillo, but now wants to project a candidacy of someone who will fight for liberty.
Comparing her track record and candidacy side-by-side, the promises and the results do not seem to match. It reminds me of Canadian Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer’s comments to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during their leadership debate last year. When comparing Trudeau’s promises to his actual record, Scheer addressed the Prime Minister, saying, “Mr. Trudeau, you are a phony, you are a fraud, and you do not deserve to govern this country.”
Obviously, the congressional candidates are not running to govern a country, but placing them in the position of representing a district in the United States Congress should place them up for scrutiny for both their promises and their records. Simply put, Hays’ rare “no” votes on issues of substance on the City Council should raise red flags for voters looking for an independent and principled voice in Washington. If Mrs. Hays’ record is compared to her promises, where she falls short on a number of fronts, then one must wonder if she is truly deserves to represent the 13th District in Congress or if the influence inside the beltway will be enough to get to her.
I encourage our readers to consider all of the candidates and their records before the March 3 primary election. Voters have an important choice to make and it is one that deserves much research, reflection, and honesty before heading into the voting booth this year.
-Thomas Warren III, Editor-in-Chief