By Thomas Warren III, Editor-in-Chief

As I have discussed many times in past editorials, the Amarillo City Council is an absolute mess at the moment. Amarillo citizens are faced with elected officials who reward their campaign donors with board and committee appointments, benefit their buddies, and strong arm the competition. The mess is not a new thing though, as it has been ongoing for many years. However, when voters get a chance to decide at election time, many stay home, and the ones who do show up are bombarded with advertising by the PAC funded by the Amarillo establishment and its cronies — usually known as Amarillo Matters.

With the big spending we see each election cycle, it seems to be a given that we will once again see Amarillo Matters PAC (or whatever the new establishment PAC might be called) spend whatever it takes to keep their hands in the cookie jar. And, with the current mess we have going on right now, I would not be at all surprised to see a little more spending than we are used to from the guys downtown.

Gotta make those voters forget the past four years, right?

But every election cycle, and during the interim, I always see posts on social media about elected officials getting paid or having some sort of benefit. This is not at all true. In fact, our City Council makes roughly $10 per week, depending on how many meetings are held. Don’t believe me? Check out the language from the Amarillo City Charter here:

The Compensation of the Mayor and each Councilmember shall be ten dollars ($10.00) per diem, for attendance upon each regular meeting of the Council, but not more than one regular meeting shall be held each week; provided, however, that no compensation shall be allowed the Mayor or any Councilmember if absent from any regular meeting of the Council unless such absence be unavoidable, the reasons therefore be presented in writing, and the same being considered sufficient by the other members and such reasons and excuses spread upon the minutes of the proceedings.
-City of Amarillo Charter

So, our City Council gets $10 a week. You might think this is not a big deal at all, but I think this is an important thing to note when we talk about candidates and their motivations for running for office.

Everyone has some sort of motivation if they are running for office, whether that office is President of the United States or a seat on a local water district board. In the case of what are essentially volunteer jobs where incumbents are paid little to nothing, the motivations must be especially placed under the microscope of voters.

Consider over the past four years the numerous conflicts of interest or potential conflicts of interest at City Hall. Consider the fact that certain campaign donors have been rewarded by this City Council with special board appointments, while regular citizens have been passed over. Consider that much of the past four years has been about shutting down critics by taking away platforms and abilities to speak, all while hiding behind slogans about loving Amarillo or promoting democracy. We have also seen a rush to consolidate and reaffirm power recently, with Amarillo’s own mayor misleading voters about term extensions, only to push a proposal to extend her term a year later.

The past four years have been about power. That’s it.

Our City Council hasn’t cared about putting Amarilloans first. If they had cared, they would’ve been doing it over the past four years. Instead, we have seen a push to grab power, reward friends, and silence opponents.

The $10 per week hasn’t mattered to the Amarillo City Council and Amarillo’s mayor. What has mattered to them is ensuring they will remain in power and their establishment buddies at Amarillo Matters, Build Amarillo PAC, and elsewhere downtown get their wishes granted as long as those campaign checks keep coming in.

$10 per week is an investment in our local government. And, in the case of this City Council, Amarillo clearly deserves a refund.

Luckily, Amarillo voters will have a chance to change things up this May, but we must make sure whoever we elect will listen to Amarillo voters and actually put Amarillo first. Whoever puts their name on the ballot is asking for a very difficult job that only pays $10 per week. That volunteer quality is great, but what is even better is having elected officials who are truly committed to opposing tax increases, ending wasteful spending, reforming Amarillo’s government, and putting Amarilloans first.

This May, I am hoping Amarillo can get rid of these $10 troublemakers, and elect people who will do the right thing, without the establishment whispering in their ears.