By Thomas Warren III, Editor-in-Chief

As I have outlined numerous times in recent weeks, Amarillo Mayor Ginger Nelson seems unwilling or unable to accept that voters defeated Proposition A on November 3 for reasons not related to so-called “misinformation.” And I don’t expect we will see any more accountability from her on this issue by the time voters potentially decide on another term for her in May.

While Nelson has not announced whether she intends to seek re-election to a third term in May, it certainly wouldn’t come as a surprise if she jumped in for another run at keeping her job. What would also be unsurprising is if Nelson decided to soften her tone on a number of issues before the election, just like she did last cycle. After all, it’s not super great politics to tell voters that you had one of your challengers arrested a year earlier for clapping in a City Council meeting, is it?

The Ginger Nelson we see in office is totally different from the Ginger Nelson we see campaigning. The candidate Nelson is outgoing, aloof on major issues, and focused on a central message dealing with optimism, regardless of its authenticity. The incumbent Nelson is a power hungry politico who is willing to steamroll the competition to achieve her agenda, consequences be damned. While shades of the incumbent show up in the candidate version of Nelson, she often masks her agenda under glossy mailers about loving Amarillo.

If she runs for re-election, I expect to see the candidate Nelson return with her appeals to optimism in May, while the in-office version of herself will go on a hiatus for a few months. However, unlike in past cycles, I do expect one trait to stick around with candidate Nelson — a lack of accountability for why Proposition A was defeated on November 3rd.

Up to this point, Nelson has totally failed to acknowledge that voters defeated the $275 million bond attached to Proposition A because of the factors of increasing taxes and a lack of trust. Her entire message since Prop A failed has been that voters were too negative or too uninformed when they voted. Ask Nelson why these supposedly uninformed voters chose not to support Prop A and she will point you to alleged “misinformation” regarding the tax increase associated with the bond, despite the tax increase number being confirmed in a social media post by one of her fellow City Council members days before the election. She has also recently directed some of her anger at Amarillo businessman Alex Fairly in a recent meeting, lending some of the blame to him for statements that he had an alternative plan for the Civic Center.

Ask Nelson why Proposition A went down and her answers will point you in every direction except for the true reasons why voters chose not to back the measure — taxes and trust.

So, while the candidate Nelson may return for another run, I doubt the accountability for Prop A’s defeat will ever show up. Hopefully voters will remember this lack of accountability when they cast their ballots for mayor in May 2021.