By Thomas Warren III, Editor-in-Chief

Last week, I opined that Amarillo Mayor Ginger Nelson was in need of a serious challenge in her campaign for re-election in 2021. Luckily, with Monday came the news that Nelson’s serious foe appears to have emerged.

Amarillo catering company owner Michael Hunt announced his campaign for Amarillo mayor on Monday, promising to put his experience in business and customer service to work for Amarilloans. Among his top priorities are fiscal responsibility, supporting local fire and police departments, reforming Animal Management & Welfare and establishing a no-kill shelter, and marketing Amarillo as a premier tourist destination.

With his background and platform, Nelson may have met her match for 2021.

The race between Nelson and Hunt promises to be one of strong contrasts. Whereas Nelson has been a faker on nearly every issue she has touched, Hunt has been a leader, building a successful local eatery and catering operation. His Texas barbecue has delighted local customers and earned him recognition as one of our city’s leaders in catering service.

Look at individual issues and you will see the contrasts even clearer.

On fiscal responsibility, Nelson has never met a tax increase that she hasn’t liked. She has voted for every tax increase since taking office and promoted a measure last year that would have passed the largest tax increase in Amarillo history. Meanwhile, Hunt has exercised fiscal responsibility at his business and has promised that he will oppose efforts to raise taxes and fight to promote fiscal responsibility on the City Council.

On Animal Management & Welfare, Nelson has neglected the issue for four years and now wants to talk about her concerns about the department. Meanwhile, Hunt is ready to walk into City Hall on the first day of his term with a laser focus on reforming Animal Management & Welfare and establishing a no-kill animal shelter.

On tourism, Nelson put all of her eggs in the Proposition A basket, which voters thoroughly rejected on November 3. Since then, Nelson has picked fights publicly with local businessman Alex Fairly and has claimed misinformation as the reason why the item went down. Meanwhile, Michael Hunt is ready to utilize our area’s resources to promote Amarillo as a tourist destination. Hunt won’t pick fights with local business leaders while our local tourism industry suffers. He will work to make sure travelers know about the great treasures our community contains.

In essence, the choice boils down to this: Michael Hunt is a common-sense local businessman and Ginger Nelson is an establishment politician whose entire tenure has been built around rewarding friends and punishing her opponents. Before taking office, Nelson was even on the Amarillo Economic Development Corporation Board in the middle of a real estate transaction that drew the attention of federal authorities.

When it comes down to leadership for our community: Michael Hunt is the real deal. Ginger Nelson has proven over the past four years that she is not.

So, we still have plenty of months to go before Election Day, but from early appearances, Amarillo voters may finally have a viable alternative to Nelson. And my hope is we hear a robust discourse over the next four months about where we go as a community from here. It’s clear the past four years haven’t worked for our city, and if Michael Hunt has the answers, he may just find himself as our city’s 35th mayor.