By Thomas Warren III, Editor-in-Chief
For today’s editorial, I promise I will not take up too much of your time. My main goal today is to remind you, now that early voting has started, the promises being made by the establishment are not worth believing regarding Proposition A in this year’s election.
Build Amarillo PAC, the new incarnation of the Amarillo establishment’s campaign wing, is asking you to blindly support Proposition A this year, with all types of claims being made that the downtown projects bond will be great for our community and really will not be that expensive. In reality, they are not telling you there is a 39% tax increase coming if Proposition A passes, and the entire debt impact is not even on the ballot. If Proposition A passes, an additional $44 million will be spent on projects related to the $275 million bond, much of which will be funded through debt not approved by taxpayers.
I get that it’s an exciting prospect when you see celebrities, former education bureaucrats, guys in cowboy hats, and journalists on television asking you to approve this item with promises that it really will not cost you that much. Just remember, regardless of how much Build Amarillo (or Amarillo Matters-Lite as I like to call them) promises you that this will not be a big risk, the numbers do not lie.
This is a 39% tax increase. This is a $275 million debt proposal, with an extra $44 million in expenses you won’t have the opportunity to vote on as the cherry on top.
The promises are nice, but the numbers are real.
Vote against Propositions A, B, and C this year. Early voting is happening now and Election Day is November 3.