Editorial: We Cannot Recommend Amarillo Matters

Amarillo Matters logo/Photo by Amarillo Matters

By Thomas Warren III, Editor-in-Chief

Now that the Amarillo Matters attack ads are official for the 2020 election cycle, I thought I would take a few minutes to work through the group’s latest mailer targeting Dr. Ronny Jackson to see what gems of political comedy gold are included.

Amarillo voters began reporting via social media on Monday that Amarillo Matters’ mailers attacking Dr. Ronny Jackson in the Republican primary for U.S. House District 13 had hit mailboxes. The mailer is virtually identical in layout as previous Amarillo Matters attack mailers from the 2017, 2018, and 2019 election cycles, so that is not a huge surprise. What is extremely interesting though is how the group packaged up its attacks this year, including a call to action to “VOTE FOR JOSH.”

However, while some voters may be distracted by a glossy mailer with pictures of Josh Winegarner, I thought most others would actually want to dig beneath the service to understand the validity (or lack thereof) of the claims made by the mailer. Therefore, I thought it might be beneficial to go through some of the wackiest and most far-out claims made by this group in their latest “Voter Guide.”

So without further ado, let’s dig in!

Claim #1: Prior to March, Jackson had never cast a ballot in the 13th District, only moving to Amarillo in December.

Ronny Jackson is a recent addition to Amarillo. However, instead of giving you the full story, Amarillo Matters is once again trying to run a favorite play of the establishment by giving you a half-truth in hopes that you will accept it as the full truth.

The full truth is that Jackson moved to Amarillo following his retirement from the U.S. Navy last year. He could not control where he was stationed while on active duty military service and served in combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan before being stationed to serve at the White House. Still, he was not totally stateside during his service, with Jackson noting last week that he was in Afghanistan for the White House in 2016.

During his service in the U.S. Navy, Jackson faced difficulties of casting ballots by mail, but did continue to request ballots and cast his votes while overseas.

While Jackson was serving our country in the U.S. Navy, Josh Winegarner was working as a corporate lobbyist, lobbying against the Trump administration’s priorities, including taking a stance against country-of-origin labeling.

Claim #2: Jackson is being supported by outside groups with ties to Empower Texans, who have a history of trying to buy our local elections.

Jackson has received the endorsement of Club for Growth, Texas Right to Life, and Young Conservatives of Texas, among others.

Meanwhile, Winegarner is being backed by multiple groups based completely outside of Texas’ 13th Congressional District. Retiring U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, who has been a frequent opponent of President Trump, has announced plans to support Winegarner through his super PAC, which is based out of Austin. Winegarner’s employer has also reported being a bundler for a super PAC based out of Virginia, which is supporting Winegarner.

Claim #3: Through a recent attack ad, it’s clear Jackson and his campaign do not share our conservative rural values such as the opening of U.S. food markets abroad and drought relief for farmers and ranchers.

This ad, in question, was paid for by Miles of Greatness Fund, and was not authorized by Ronny Jackson or his campaign, according to the organization’s disclosure.

Meanwhile, while Amarillo Matters is attempting to claim Jackson does not support “conservative rural values” including the opening of international food markets, their own endorsed candidate lobbied to continue NAFTA and lobbied to prevent country-of-origin labeling in defiance of the Trump administration’s trade priorities.

Aside from the fact that attacking a veteran’s military service to win an election has never fit into any definition of “conservative rural values” of which I am aware, the record of Josh Winegarner should raise serious concerns about his true ability to deliver for the people of the 13th District of Texas.

Claim #4: Josh [Winegarner]'s role with the Texas Cattle Feeders Association for the last 15 years has allowed him to work on issues that have a direct impact on our area. His expertise in agriculture, tax, trade, environmental, and labor policy have been used to promote and protect agriculture, one of the largest economic drivers in the 13th District.

This is interesting that Amarillo Matters now is wanting to praise Winegarner for his work with the Texas Cattle Feeders Association, while the lobbyist-turned-politician is running away from his TCFA record in many respects. He has failed to admit that he lobbied as disclosed in filings by his employer with the U.S. Senate in 2017, including regarding lobbying against Trump administration trade priorities. Winegarner has also distanced himself from the TCFA’s donations to Democratic legislators through its PAC, BEEF-PAC, while he was the organization’s governmental affairs director.

So, as voters, are we supposed to talk about Winegarner’s TCFA record or ignore it? I guess it depends on who is paying for the political advertising.

There are many other crazy claims made in the organization’s mailer, but going over every issue would take too much time. The fact is, Amarillo Matters has shown itself to be against the priorities of Republican primary voters in the Amarillo area, and all voters in general, at every turn.

This year, Randall County Republican primary voters voted 95% in favor of discontinuing taxpayer-funded lobbying. Meanwhile, Amarillo Matters’ preferred incumbents on the Amarillo City Council have overseen a municipal organization which has continued to employ lobbyists on the taxpayer’s dime, according to filings with the Texas Ethics Commission.

In 2018, Randall County voters voted 93% in favor of capping yearly property tax revenue increases at 4%. Meanwhile, the candidate this organization propped up as their preferred candidate for Mayor in 2017 and 2019 lobbied Gov. Greg Abbott to oppose property tax reform.

There are many other examples, but this just goes to show that as far as lining up with Republican primary voters, Amarillo Matters has never been a conservative organization. I do not even believe you can categorize Amarillo Matters as a liberal organization. Amarillo Matters has always been a special interest group dedicated solely to the idea of keeping a few individuals’ hands in the cookie jar and acquiring and retaining power.

It is my opinion that for Amarillo Matters, this election is not about Ronny Jackson or Josh Winegarner. For Amarillo Matters, this election has always been about buying the keys to the office on Capitol Hill. And now that the favorite son of the establishment is behind in the polls, Amarillo Matters has brought out the special interest checkbook to make some last minute magic happen for their favorite lobbyist.

While Amarillo Matters says they cannot recommend Ronny Jackson, I would like to call upon the voters of Texas’ 13th Congressional District to go to the polls and show that we cannot recommend Amarillo Matters.

The only way we can defeat the establishment’s special interest machine is by showing up, being present, and being heard at the polls.

So, let’s get out and reject Amarillo Matters at the polls on Election Day, July 14. Early voting runs until July 10.