No Races in City Election Will be Unopposed

Amarillo City Hall | Photo by Noah Dawson

None of the races for city office in Amarillo will be unopposed in May, according to ballot filings.

On February 7th, applications for Sam Burnett, Katt Massey, and Les Simpson were approved. Katt Massey was the second to file for Place 3 and Les Simpson was the second to file for Place 4. Massey will face off against Tom Scherlen and Simpson will face off against Hobert “Gunny” Brown. Despite an apparent clerical error listing the application as having been approved in 2003, Sam Burnett is the fourth candidate to have filed for mayor (other filed candidates are Freda Powell, Tonya Winston, and Jeffrey McGunegle). The races for Mayor, Place 3, and Place 4 are all open, with the incumbents for each having already announced plans to step down at the end of their terms.

The races for places 1 and 2 also feature multiple candidates. In Place 1, Margie Gonzales and Ray White have filed. In Place 2, Sherie Wood, Don Tipps, and Gabriel McHenry-Herrera have filed. Place 2 will be an open race, as incumbent Freda Powell has already filed to run for mayor. Place 1, on the other hand, may or may not be an open race. Incumbent Cole Stanley, who has been a vocal critic of Mayor Ginger Nelson’s pro-tax and anti-gun stances, has indicated he will either run for reelection to Place 1 or run for mayor, though he does not intend on officially announcing until February 17th, which is the filing deadline.

Unlike Amarillo City Council, Canyon City Commission might have some uncontested races. So far, incumbents for Mayor/Place 1, Place 2, and Place 3 have filed to run, while non-incumbent Danny J. Potter has filed to run for Place 5. So far, none of the races for Canyon City Commission have multiple candidates filed. In 2021, incumbent Place 5 Commissioner Randy Ray was the only candidate to attract a challenger.