Profiling the 2023 Amarillo Pioneer of the Year Nominees

Today, our team at The Pioneer announced the 21 nominees for the 2023 Amarillo Pioneer of the Year Award. This award honors the person who has made the biggest impact on Amarillo over the past year.

As our Pioneer of the Year voting continues through next month, we wanted to take a moment in today’s edition to highlight the 21 nominees who have been selected as finalists for this year’s award.

You can cast your ballot for Pioneer of the Year using the form near the bottom of this page.

David and Beverly Bailey, Founders of Conservative Patriots for Texas

These two have quickly become a household name in local politics after having founded the Potter/Randall chapter of the True Texas Project, which was then spun off into the independent Conservative Patriots for Texas group. The meetings of this group have provided a venue for local conservatives and conservative candidates to speak on issues of local importance.

Ed Begley, Jr., Actor

While actor Ed Begley Jr. doesn’t have strong ties to Amarillo, he earned Amarillo some attention earlier this year when he posted about his trip to the city on social media, gaining responses from A-list Hollywood celebrities about Amarillo. Begley played Clifford Main on “Better Call Saul,” a critically popular spinoff of the hit drama Breaking Bad, which concluded its six-season run earlier this year. Begley has also earned attention for his role as Dr. Grant Linkletter on Young Sheldon.

Paul Blake, Canyon ISD Board of Trustees, Place 1

Paul Blake was elected to the Canyon ISD Board of Trustees earlier this year. Known for his roofing company, Paul Blake Roofing, his campaign focused on themes of rural roots and Christian values.

Tam Boatler, Commissioner-Elect, Randall County Commissioner Place 2

Tam Boatler, a retired Amarillo Police Chief, won his race for the open seat for Randall County Commission earlier this year, defeating Michael Grady and Mellissa Kalka in the Republican primary and runoff elections. In his race, Boatler focused on a desire to continue serving his community through his strong conservative values.

Kathleen Brown, Democratic Nominee for US House, District 13

Though Democratic candidate Kathleen Brown lost her bid to oust Congressman Ronny Jackson, her showing of 24% was more than Democrat Gus Trujillo and Libertarian Jack B. Westbrook had combined in 2020.

Leandro Cedeno, Amarillo Sod Poodles Player

During the Christmas in July game at Hodgetown, Cedeno hit one of the longest home runs in history at 527 feet, landing in the City Hall parking lot. The home run attracted attention during a meeting of Amarillo City Council. Cedeno’s impressive run as a member of the Amarillo Sod Poodles earned him a call up from the Arizona Diamondbacks organization to play AAA baseball for the Arizona affiliate in Reno.

Steven Denny, Judge-Elect, 320th District Court

After several unsuccessful bids for public office, including a primary race in 2020 against Larry Doss for the Seventh District Court of Appeals that went to a special election after two counties initially failed to include the race on the ballot, Steven Denny successfully defeated incumbent Pamela Sirmon in the Republican Primary race for 320th District Court earlier this year.

Alex Fairly, Local Businessman and Plaintiff in Civic Center Lawsuit

Alex Fairly is no stranger to local politics, having a long history of donating to various local races. This year, though, all eyes were on Fairly as he filed then won a lawsuit against the City of Amarillo where he alleged the city broke the law when it tried to issue anticipation tax notes to fund Civic Center improvements, claiming the city was essentially trying to subvert the will of voters who voted down a largely similar plan in 2020.

The city has since requested Judge William Sowder, who issued the ruling against the city, to “correct” his ruling. They have also begun to lay the groundwork for an appeal of the case. However, Mayor Nelson has admitted that the lawsuit has killed the plans for the project, meaning it will not go forward even if the city is able to reverse the lawsuit. His lawsuit also brought the actions taken by Amarillo City Council to the attention of state lawmakers, who have indicated they intend to make fixing the issues exploited by the city a priority during the upcoming session.

Since filing his lawsuit, many locally have expressed their desire for Fairly to run for office, with many calling on him to run for mayor.

Joanne Garcia Flores, Randall County Justice of the Peace-Elect, Precinct 4

Joanne Garcia Flores is a local attorney and former appointed Justice of the Peace in Randall County who successfully ran for election to the position this year. After earning second place in the Republican primary, Joanne Garcia Flores won an upset victory in the runoff. Joanne Garcia Flores campaigned on her experience having worked every position in the JP Precinct 4 court.

Jerry Hodge, Former Mayor and Author

Jerry Hodge is a controversial figure and former mayor who has long cast a shadow over local politics. Though he had been out of the spotlight in recent years (aside from being the namesake of Hodgetown), he recently wrote a book about Amarillo.

Ronny Jackson, Congressman

As Amarillo’s representative in Washington, Jackson has made national headlines several times this year as one of President Biden’s loudest critics and President Trump’s biggest supporters. Rumors have also begun to float about Jackson running for Senator John Cornyn’s seat, especially after Cornyn has faced harsh criticism from Republicans over his negotiations with Democrats on gun control.

Dan Rogers, Chairman of the Potter County Republican Party

Dan Rogers has made a name for himself as one of the strongest voices in support of paper ballot voting in the nation. He has also overseen big wins for the Republican Party in Potter County, including the ousting of Democrat Robert Ruiz from the Potter County Commissioners’ Court.

Tom Scherlen, Local Political Leader

Tom Scherlen has been a major player in local politics over the past few years, being a major figure in the defeat of the 2020 Civic Center bond package, as well as every other tax increase on local ballots since. Most recently, Scherlen helped lead the charge against the largest bond and tax increase package in Amarillo ISD history.

Howard Smith, Amarillo City Councilman

Howard Smith has served on Amarillo City Council since 2017. While on the council, Smith has been noted for his input during discussions and participation on city boards. In the past, some have even called on Smith to run for mayor against incumbent Ginger Nelson.

Kevin Sparks, State Senator-Elect

After the often controversial Kel Seliger announced he would not run for reelection to the Texas State Senate, Kevin Sparks handily won the primary election. Seliger had been regularly criticized for being one of the most left-leaning members of the Republican Party in the state senate. Many local conservatives hope that Sparks will be able to improve upon Seliger’s record.

Cole Stanley, Amarillo City Councilman

After winning the race for the open City Council Place 1 seat last year, Cole Stanley has been one of the most outspoken members of the council, regularly being the only no vote on many issues. He has especially gained notoriety as a leading voice against the new City Hall project, stating that it is too much like a portion of the Civic Center bond defeated by voters in 2021. While this helped Stanley win the Pioneer of the Year award last year, he has remained in the spotlight. Stanley has been the one member of the Amarillo City Council who voted against the Civic Center anticipation tax notes, has supported a petition seeking the repeal of the notes, and led the council to make the first cut to the city’s property tax rate in over a decade.

Laura Storrs, Assistant City Manager and Chief Financial Officer for the City of Amarillo

Laura Storrs turned heads during a pre-trial hearing in the Civic Center lawsuit when she gave testimony observers called damaging over the summer. One part of the testimony given by Storrs was that the agenda for the meeting when the council passed the tax notes was erroneous and that she had been the one to write the agenda item. She also testified to having a meeting with members of the council about the item ahead of the meeting. While the ruling from Judge Sowder did not rule whether or not those meetings constituted rolling quorums in violation of the Texas Open Meetings Act, many have the admission did rise to that level.

Robert Taylor, Potter County Justice of the Peace Precinct 2

Robert Taylor won another term as Justice of the Peace in Potter County earlier this month, defeating a strong challenge by Democratic candidate David Deleon. The precinct the two were running in was notable as it also featured an incumbent Democrat on the County Commissioners’ Court facing a challenge from a Republican. As we noted in our analysis of the race ahead of election day, that precinct was projected to be close. In the end, Taylor won.

Chuck Williams, reporter

Chuck Williams, or "Chuckalicious" as he calls himself on NewsChannel10’s “The Chat,” is known for his efforts to give advice on keeping fit through his Eye On Wellness blog on the KGNC website. His series includes entries such as "Pilates for Aerobics and Runners" and the boldly titled "FOCUS."

Alex Yarbrough, 7th Court of Appeals Justice

Alex Yarbrough, a justice serving on the Seventh Court of Appeals, ran for 47th district judge earlier this year. While he didn't win that race, this campaign catapulted him into the spotlight, leading to his appointment by Governor Abbott on the Seventh Court of Appeals.

Mike Yazbek, Vice Chairman of the Potter County Republican Party

Mike Yazbek, a local knife sharpener, was elected vice chairman of the Potter County Republican Party over the summer, becoming the only party officer from North Amarillo. Yazbek was a visible local leader during the Texas Republican Party convention in Houston, arguing for better seating placement for West Texas delegates, and regularly seeking clarification on important matters of party debate.