February 13th 2023: Canyon City Commission votes to call May 6th election | Left to right: Cody Jones, Gary Hinders, Paul R. Lyons, Randy Ray (Kelsey Ward did not attend) | Photo via City of Canyon Livestream
Every race for Amarillo City Council is already contested, with some races likely to field a record number of candidates. However, with the deadline to file for a place on the ballot less than 24 hours away, all five places on Canyon City Commission remain uncontested.
As of writing, incumbents Gary Hinders (Place 1/Mayor), Cody Jones (Place 2) and Paul R. Lyons (Place 3) have filed to run for reelection. While incumbents Kelsey Ward (Place 4) and Randy Ray (Place 5) have not filed, Robyn Cranmer has filed for Place 4 and Danny J. Potter has filed for Place 5.
Canyon City Commissioners are elected at large, so anyone qualified to run in the City of Canyon can run for any of the five seats. The deadline to file for a place on the ballot is Friday, February 17th at 5:00 pm. If an interested candidate misses that deadline, they may still file to be a write-in candidate, though they must do so by February 21st.
According to Canyon City Secretary Gretchen Mercer, if all races remain unopposed, they will cancel the election.
In 2021, voters did not cast ballots for places 1-4, as those races were uncontested. Voters did choose to re-elect incumbent Randy Ray, who battled challenger Zachery Unger.
Election Day is May 6th.