By Thomas Warren III, Editor-in-Chief

Tuesday brought some good news for Amarillo — after a long primary election cycle, State Sen. Kel Seliger (R-Amarillo) is finally on his way to retirement. And, District 31 voters selected a terrific replacement for one of the worst senators in Austin.

Midland businessman Kevin Sparks was elected on Tuesday night to replace Seliger, emerging from a contentious four-candidate field to claim the Republican nomination for the District 31 senate seat, and thus, the eventual election to the seat in November with no other candidates on the ballot. Voters should be thrilled about Sparks’ election, considering that Sparks is everything District 31 has deserved for years but has never gotten with Seliger.

Throughout his tenure in Austin, Seliger was consistently rated as one of the least conservative Republicans in the Texas Legislature. Seliger constantly brought attention to himself for ridiculous stunts aimed at going against conservatives in his party. And, as a parting gift, Seliger filed a sworn court statement in a federal lawsuit claiming redistricting violated voting rights in Texas. It is worth noting that Seliger later admitted in a Texas Monthly interview that he didn’t actually believe what was in the statement he filed, but simply signed it to express his disapproval with changes to his district. Talk about a sore loser.

Regardless, Panhandle and West Texas voters will soon have a champion in Austin who won’t make District 31 look bad every time they open their mouth and won’t betray the values of the party they supposedly belong to when they cast their votes. And this is all because voters got out, demanded change, and made their voices heard at the ballot box.

So, District 31, congratulations on retiring Seliger and replacing him with a taxpayer champion like Kevin Sparks. And to Senator Seliger, enjoy your retirement — District 31 has earned it.