By Thomas Warren III, Editor-in-Chief
Amarillo City Council members should consider accepting the advice of Governor Greg Abbott to reschedule the May 2 bond election.
On Wednesday, the Texas Tribune’s Patrick Svitek reported via Twitter that Abbott has given the green light to municipalities to reschedule their May 2 elections due to concerns regarding the coronavirus pandemic. According to the same tweet thread, it appears Abbott is also looking at rescheduling the planned May 26 runoff elections across Texas, which would include the Republican runoff for U.S. House District 13 between Ronny Jackson and Josh Winegarner.
Considering this historic move by Abbott, City officials should heed the Governor’s recommendation and postpone the Amarillo Civic Center Complex bond election until November 3. May elections are typically low turnout to begin with, but add on the fear over health concerns related to public activities over the next several weeks and it is clear to see why this election should be rescheduled. As many Amarillo voters as possible should have the opportunity to participate in the bond election for the Civic Center Complex and should not have to brave coronavirus worries in order to vote.
Amarillo officials now have the option to make the right choice and postpone this election. Let’s hope they follow the Governor’s suggestion and send this election to the November ballot.
Rendering of the proposed indoor arena included in the bond election plan/Provided by City of Amarillo