Photo by City of Amarillo
By Thomas Warren III, Editor-in-Chief
With voters heading to the polls already to decide the Amarillo City Council’s three ballot issues — Propositions A, B, and C, — it seems to be clear to most voters that Proposition A, billed as being for the Civic Center Complex, is a total disaster. With a 39% tax increase and more pork than you will find on any barbecue menu in town, voters seem to be waking up to the fact that Proposition A is no good for local taxpayers.
However, with all of the attention on Proposition A, it may be easy to overlook the other two monstrosities on the ballot. Today, I want to focus on Proposition B.
For those unaware, Proposition B would extend the terms of the Amarillo City Council by two years each, giving elected officials in Amarillo four-year terms for the first time in Amarillo history. The Proposition was rushed to the ballot in a relatively short time frame and has basically flown under the radar since its election was announced. While voters may be unaware of Proposition B’s strange road to the ballot, there are plenty of reasons voters should be concerned about what a Proposition B passage could mean for Amarillo.
Proposition B is totally undefined as to when the extended terms would take effect, how they would be implemented, and more. There is a loose promise of staggered terms, although there is nothing binding on how the terms would be staggered, considering the can has been kicked down the road on this issue, with the current City Council set to pass ordinances related to the enactment of Proposition B. What will those ordinances say? We don’t know. This is the epitome of a “pass it first, find out what happens later,” type of law.
Another key issue opponents of Proposition B have raised is the lack of language preventing the term extensions from being applied retroactively. The City of Amarillo’s communications department has forcefully denied any intentions or abilities to retroactively apply the term extensions, pointing to language in existing state laws about civil service tenure. However, seeing as the City Council is not a civil service-classified position in Amarillo, I have my own doubts about this argument.
My biggest problem with Proposition B is with the dishonesty shown by the current City government when pushing this ordinance.
Provided
At a candidate forum in 2019, Amarillo Mayor Ginger Nelson called for extending terms, saying the change would prevent voters from having the opportunity to “flip the whole boat again.” After voters called her on her comments, Nelson walked it back in a Facebook message, saying she “mentioned that it would be wise” for Amarillo to enact four-year terms, but “did not call for four year terms.”
I guess wanting to extend your own term isn’t a good look when you’re running for re-election.
A year and a half later, and the City Council is now pushing term extensions, with the support of Mayor Nelson. If Nelson supported this proposal when she spoke about it in 2019, and all indications are she did, then it was incredibly dishonest and disingenuous to claim otherwise to voters when they called her out. If she supported four-year terms, then she should’ve stuck to her guns and told voters that is what she supported.
Instead, keeping with tradition, Nelson lied.
I totally disagree with extending a politician’s term, but I could’ve respected the proposal more if she had been honest the whole time. Instead, Nelson lied, voters got bamboozled, and the whole town is left with the results of dishonesty in campaigning. I cannot respect this win-at-all-costs style of campaigning Nelson employed, saying one thing, then doing another.
Looking at Proposition B, there are just way too many issues with this item for voters to even consider taking a chance to support it. With so many question marks and so much left to be decided about how Proposition B would be enacted if it is passed, there are way too many risks involved with this item. Still, with all of these risks, you are being asked to trust your government again.
The time for trust at City Hall is over. Our government has shown they cannot be trusted to do the right thing when we give them the chance.
My vote is already in and I voted against Proposition B. I hope you will join me in defeating this proposal on November 3.