By Thomas Warren III, Editor-in-Chief

A few years ago, I had the privilege to attend the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C. During the convention, I was introduced to the history of President Ronald Reagan’s 1981 speech to the convention. In that speech, President Reagan delivered a rallying cry to voters who were concerned about the future of the country and set the path forward for his landslide 1984 victory, which would usher in a new generation of conservative leaders.

In his speech, Reagan said the following:

“Fellow citizens, fellow conservatives, our time is now. Our moment has arrived. We stand together shoulder to shoulder in the thickest of the fight. If we carry the day and turn the tide, we can hope that as long as men speak of freedom and those who have protected it, they will remember us, and they will say, ‘Here were the brave and here their place of honor.’”

These words were incredibly influential at the time and are still repeated by conservatives today who seek remembrance of Reagan’s call to action.

This year, while the presidential race is dominating the headlines, there is an election of equal importance on the ballot.

The election — to decide Propositions A, B, and C — is not about your political ideology, whether your favorite president is Ronald Reagan or Franklin Roosevelt, or whether you voted for Trump or Biden. This election is about whether you will let the establishment seize more power or if you will stand up and demand change.

I truly believe today’s election to decide Propositions A, B, and C is perhaps the most important election in the history of Amarillo. And considering the stakes of this election, I wanted to provide my own call to action for ALL Amarillo citizens, regardless of your political affiliation.

If you have been concerned about the direction of Amarillo, now is your time to act.

If you have been concerned about the regular disdain shown to citizens by their election officials, now if your time to act.

If you have been sickened by Amarillo Matters PAC or any number of the establishment’s throwaway PACs — such as Build Amarillo, Vote for Amarillo, or Unite for Amarillo — buying votes and running the show, then now is your time to act.

For those like myself, who want to save Amarillo from skyrocketing taxes and an unprecedented power grab by our local elected officials, then this is the time. This is the Super Bowl of local elections. This is the election where we will decide whether to allow Mayor Ginger Nelson and the City Council to indulge their thirst for power, or whether we will demand accountability. This is the election where we will decide if we should give our elected officials a blank check with the promise of a tax increase of 39%, which was confirmed by Amarillo City Councilwoman Elaine Hays, or whether we will demand action on our elected officials’ campaign promises of low taxes.

If you believe Amarillo deserves better and can do better, now is the time.

Amarillo, our time is now. This is the moment when we will choose to save our city from the establishment’s power grab or choose to be willing accomplices in the establishment’s plans to seize power that can never be reclaimed by local citizens.

Amarillo, our moment has arrived. To save Amarillo, we must act now at the ballot box.

Join me in voting against Propositions A, B, and C, and let’s save Amarillo together.

Our time is now, Amarillo. Let’s not mess this up. Let’s get the job done and defeat Propositions A, B, and C. The future of this town, and our ability to hold government accountable, depends on you.