Please note: Over the next few days, the Amarillo Pioneer’s Editorial Board will be publishing recommendations for various local races. In some races where multiple seats are up for grabs, recommendations may be spread out over several days. Please stay tuned to our website for recommendations and for a final list, which will be published next week.
FROM LEFT: Freda Powell (Photo by Campaign), Cole Stanley (Photo by Campaign), Don Collins (Photo by Campaign), Jeff McGunegle (Screenshot by Inspire Amarillo), Sam Burnett (Screenshot by ABC7Amarillo), Tonya Winston (Photo by Campaign)
By Amarillo Pioneer Editorial Board
In the race for Amarillo mayor, six candidates have filed for spots on the ballot, in hopes of replacing retiring incumbent Ginger Nelson. The six candidates — City Councilwoman Freda Powell, Councilman Cole Stanley, former Elkhart City Councilman Don Collins, life coach Jeff McGunegle, truck driver Sam Burnett, and influencer Tonya Winston — all come from very different backgrounds and perspectives. This is truly a race showing the diversity in opinion that Amarillo has to offer.
Of the six candidates, we have two candidates who are currently involved in city government — Powell and Stanley — although both have often been on opposite sides of the fence. Powell has been the most loyal of lieutenants to Nelson, while Stanley has been unafraid to buck the trend, and has made a solid case that he is the strongest taxpayer champion holding any elected office in Amarillo right now. And it’s this very reason that our Editorial Board believes Stanley deserves voters’ support for mayor this year.
Most readers already know about Stanley; he’s a commercial builder who won a seat on the Amarillo City Council in 2021 with bipartisan support. Stanley immediately butted heads with Nelson over the operations of the City of Amarillo and voted against massive spending proposals, like the proposed rebuild of the Amarillo Civic Center, and the $32 million City Hall project. Stanley also signed a letter in support of gun rights last year, after Nelson signed a letter calling on Gov. Greg Abbott to fast-track stronger gun control measures.
Every time Nelson and her band of councilmembers have moved to the left, Stanley has held the line, and tried to move our local elected officials back to the right. And it’s that kind of attempt for balance that has made Stanley a public enemy among our local establishment.
Stanley has had the taxpayers’ backs in every instance where they have counted on him to do the right thing as a councilmember. And that is why voters should trust Stanley to serve as mayor for the next two years.
Beyond Stanley, we want to give special recognition to Collins, McGunegle, Winston, and Burnett for the fact that all four of these candidates have been engaged, involved, and willing to answer voter questions. These four candidates have demonstrated more empathy and concern for the issues faced by Amarillo voters and taxpayers than Nelson or any of Stanley’s colleagues have over the past six years. It seems undeniable that Collins, McGunegle, Winston, and Burnett would all be an improvement over Nelson and would all be better choices for mayor than Powell.
When it comes to Powell, if there are any voters who might be considering voting for her, we want to remind you that she has voted consistently to raise your taxes, voted to issue hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer debt without voter approval, and voted to add more red light cameras to the streets of Amarillo before state law made local governments shut the cameras down. Additionally, she has consistently supported taxpayer-funded lobbying, opposes moving city elections to November, voted to extend the city manager’s contract just weeks before the city election, and voted to put a term extension for her office on the ballot.
Is there really anything else we need to say about her record to give you an idea of where Powell stands on the issues?
Overall, if voters are looking for a candidate who would be a better mayor than Nelson or Powell, then the choice is very simple: just go into the voting booth and pick from your other five options. But if voters are looking for the best option on the ballot this year — and the one candidate who has a proven record as a taxpayer champion — then the choice is clear.
We recommend Cole Stanley for Amarillo Mayor.
Election Day is May 6. Early voting begins on April 24.
Please note: An editorial board recommendation does not necessarily represent the views or opinions of the Amarillo Pioneer’s advertisers or staff. A recommendation of one candidate does not represent a criticism of other candidates running unless otherwise stated. Recommendations may be offered in additional races.