By Thomas Warren III, Editor-in-Chief

After four destructive years at the helm, Amarillo Mayor Ginger Nelson filed to seek re-election on Friday. After spending the past four years carefully dividing Amarillo, raising taxes, rewarding her friends and establishment cronies, and growing government, she is looking for another two years in office.

With her campaign announcement earlier this month also came Ginger Nelson’s new platform for 2021. It’s great that Nelson has new campaign promises, but the problem is she never delivered on her previous promises.

I have recapped Nelson’s broken promises many times in the past. From claiming to support “keeping taxes low,” and voting to raise taxes four years in a row, to claiming to support creating a “job creation task force,” while never delivering on her promise, Nelson has never had follow-through on her promises. Instead, citizens have been cast out of City Hall, with cameras shut down for public comment, City Council meeting participation restricted, and meeting times moved to accommodate fewer attendees. All of this has happened while Nelson has let her campaign promises sit untouched like a moldy loaf of bread on a grocery store shelf.

However, Amarillo’s Tax Queen is not done making promises that I believe she never intends to keep. She has made a number of promises this year, including “free” internet access for all citizens. But what is most troubling to me is her promise on Animal Management & Welfare.

Nelson has promised this election cycle that she will address the problems at Animal Management & Welfare, saying in her campaign literature, “There is more work to do in this area and we need leadership to stay focused on increasing the momentum we have started.” That’s great, but where have her concerns been about this department during her entire time in office?

When Nelson took office in 2017, Amarillo was just a few years removed from a seemingly constant flow of gruesome and disturbing stories coming out of our local animal shelter. Yet, despite some progress made by a previous City Council, she cast the concerns at Animal Management & Welfare aside. Dogs have been euthanized outside of best practices during Nelson’s term, including one dog who was euthanized while in labor. Dogs who were set to be reclaimed have been euthanized. In the case of the dog that was euthanized while in labor, the City of Amarillo botched its response to the event, changing its story multiple times. And throughout all of it, it seems that Nelson never once lifted a finger to address the issues.

But, Nelson’s bad record on Animal Management & Welfare should not come as a shock, as she has never prioritized this issue. Consider that in 2019, local animal rescue advocates held a form at the Southwest Public Library where nearly all of the challengers running for City Council and one incumbent showed up to address issues at the department. That one incumbent who showed up was not Ginger Nelson.

So, to put it simply, in the eyes of this writer, Ginger Nelson has never cared one bit about Animal Management & Welfare or efforts to establish a no-kill shelter in Amarillo. For Nelson, her concerns have always been put on other topics that are more pressing for her, like taxing citizens out of their homes.

I remind you of all of this to put forward the harsh reality — Ginger Nelson will not deliver on her 2021 campaign promises, just like she didn’t deliver on the majority of her promises in 2019 or 2017. Remember when she said she would clean up I-40 and I-27? Remember when she talked about the job creation task force? Yeah, those things totally happened.

The good news is Amarillo voters do not have to accept the new promises put forward by “No Shame” Ginger Nelson. Local catering company owner Michael Hunt is running for mayor on a platform of bringing common-sense business experience to the Amarillo City Council. Unlike Nelson, Hunt has made it clear that actually reforming Animal Management & Welfare and establishing a no-kill shelter will be among his top priorities. Additionally, Hunt will not vote to raise taxes, unlike Nelson who has never met a tax increase that she didn’t like. Hunt has made it clear that he will not kick the can down the road on the Animal Management issue and will deliver on his promise of positive reforms.

For voters who are on the hunt for a better mayor, Michael Hunt has put himself forward as the common-sense alternative to Ginger Nelson. And with his pledge that he will actually deliver on his campaign promises, it seems clear that he is more sincere than Nelson when it comes to matters of substance for this community.

So, while you drive down I-40 and I-27 and look at the tall weeds and trash in the median or send in your application for the non-existent job creation task force that Nelson was to spearhead, just remember all of her broken promises over the past four years. And also remember all of the scandals at Animal Management & Welfare during Nelson’s terms. After four years of doing nothing, what makes you think she is going to address that issue now?

Amarillo can make the changes we need, but we must get out and vote. Don’t let Nelson get away with two more years of broken promises. Vote her out on May 1st.