By Thomas Warren III, Editor-in-Chief

It’s April Fools’ Day — a day when millions of people try to one-up each other with the meanest practical jokes they can play. While some of the jokes are hilarious and others are just downright rude, there is one thing that’s for sure: the worst joke of all in Amarillo is no laughing matter.

For the past four years, Amarillo taxpayers have lived under the reign of Mayor Ginger Nelson, a tax-and-spend establishment favorite whose entire tenure has centered around rewarding allies, campaign donors, and business associates, while casting everyone else out of City Hall. And while this has been going on, neighborhoods across Amarillo have been left in neglect and citizens have been treated to one of the least transparent reigns by any City Council in Amarillo history.

This has been the Ginger Nelson Show, brought to you by Amarillo Matters PAC, the establishment political group responsible for pushing bad, anti-citizen policies while trashing the military and community service records of their opponents. I hope you haven’t forgotten Amarillo Matters PAC’s assault on the military service of Ronny Jackson when he ran for Congress in 2020. This should tell you everything about the lack of character this organization holds.

But, regardless of the anti-military record of Nelson’s top supporters, her own record speaks for itself. Nelson’s record includes tax increase after tax increase and political fight after political fight. She has sought out opportunities to be in front of the cameras, but has failed as a leader and representative for Amarillo.

Her policies are bad, but they are no April Fools’ joke. They are simply a symptom of having an elected official who appears to care more about her own campaign’s bank account than fixing the problems our community is facing.

Luckily, Nelson is being opposed by pro-citizen candidate Michael Hunt. Hunt, a businessman and fiscal conservative, has already outlined his plans on key issues and has made it clear that he will make transparency and accountability two of his top priorities. Hunt won’t kick the can down the road on the key issues in our city and has no associations with any political groups like Amarillo Matters PAC and their poor record.

And, perhaps best of all, unlike Nelson, Hunt was never involved in any real estate transaction that drew the attention of federal authorities before taking office. Just like with her awful record as mayor, Nelson’s bad record on the Amarillo Economic Development Corporation Board — and the Commerce Building scandal that went along with it — is no laughing matter.

Voters can make a change, but we have to get out and vote this year.

Stop sitting behind your phone screen whining about the city when your opportunity for change has come. Get out and vote for citizen-first candidate Michael Hunt on May 1 and let’s send Nelson and her bad policies packing.