Pioneer Investigation: Who are Incumbent City Council Members Backing?

Some of the signs in Eddy Sauer’s Yard | Photo by The Amarillo Pioneer

This year, Amarillo will see a new city council majority for the first time since 2017. With voters also set to also make key decisions in crowded races for local school boards, it’s no surprise that yard signs have begun to appear all over town, including in the yards of incumbent members of Amarillo City Council. Who are the incumbents backing? The Amarillo Pioneer’s investigative team has the answers.

Mayor Ginger Nelson, who is not seeking another term in office, is not sporting any signs for city races in her yard, though there are two signs supporting Steve Trafton for Amarillo ISD Board of Trustees. 

City Councilman Place 1 Cole Stanley, who is running for mayor, has two yard signs supporting his campaign, as well as one supporting Tom Scherlen’s campaign for Place 3.

City Councilwoman Place 2 Freda Powell, who is also running for mayor, has a yard sign supporting her campaign, as well as one supporting Michele Fortunato’s reelection bid for Amarillo College Board of Regents.

The incumbent with the most yard signs (by a wide margin) is City Councilman Place 3 Eddy Sauer. Sauer, who is not seeking another term in office, has a yard sign supporting Katt Massey’s campaign for the seat. He also has two signs for Freda Powell’s mayoral campaign, two signs for Steve Trafton’s AISD Board bid, one sign supporting Jon Mark Beilue’s AISD Board bid, and one sign supporting Michele Fortunato’s AC Board reelection campaign.

In contrast, it does not appear that the address listed on City Councilman Place 4 Howard Smith’s voter registration has any political yard signs. However, immediately after Freda Powell announced her mayoral campaign earlier this year, Smith confirmed to the Pioneer that she has his support. (Smith, like Nelson and Sauer, is not seeking another term.)