Dickson Responds to Mayor Stanley: 'Sounded a Lot Like Biden-Harris'

Mark Lee Dickson/Photo by Tammy Fogle/Provided by Mark Lee Dickson

Mayor Cole Stanley held a press conference on Wednesday regarding the petition to make Amarillo a Sanctuary City for the Unborn. Now, the petition’s key organizer is speaking out.

Mark Lee Dickson issued a statement on Wednesday night responding to Stanley. In part, Dickson said that the reason the petition was created was because the Amarillo City Council showed a lack of understanding of the state’s abortion laws.

“This was made even more apparent when Mayor Cole Stanley started answering questions at the press conference,” Dickson said.

Dickson particularly criticized Stanley over his sentiment that he supports a right to travel through Amarillo. The organizer said that the comments struck him as similar to those made by President Joe Biden’s administration.

“Mayor Cole Stanley sounded a lot like the Biden-Harris Administration today in how he spoke of ‘civil liberties’ and the ‘right to travel,’” Dickson said. “Congressman Ronny Jackson should give Mayor Cole Stanley a call and educate him on what the Biden-Harris Administration is trying to do. If Mayor Stanley fought half as hard as Congressman Ronny Jackson has been fighting, maybe him and I would be on the same page.”

Dickson also explicitly said how the committee views the proposed ordinance in light of the Mayor’s comments.

“The initiating committee and I do not see the proposed ordinance outlawing abortion trafficking as a ‘travel ban,’” Dickson said. He continued, " We see the proposed ordinance as a ban on ‘abortion trafficking.’”

Dickson’s remarks come after Stanley held a press conference updating the public on what will happen moving forward after the committee’s petition was ratified. During the press conference, Stanley stated that he wants to continue protecting the rights of citizens in Amarillo.

“I’m not going to fast forward to anybody’s decision that this ordinance could [restrict the right to travel,]” Stanley said. “However, I will tell you that constitutionally, as a conservative that loves the republic that we live in, we always want to protect civil rights. The right to free speech, the right to travel, to move, is very important and we should never be in favor of something that would limit that.”

In a phone interview, Stanley responded to Dickson’s comments and made it clear that the two agree on the same core issue: protecting the right to life.

“I continue to appreciate Mark Lee Dickson’s passion for a cause we agree on, which is to protect life,” Stanley said. “I stand by what I said in front of the cameras. I think Mark Lee Dickson is a great example of when we as a people can’t seem to get out of our own way.”

Amarillo City Council Tom Scherlen responded to Dickson’s comments in a phone interview, disagreeing with Dickson’s statement.

“I respect Mark Lee Dickson’s right to travel to our community to advocate for what he believes in, but the way in which he has implied that the our city’s elected leaders — elected by the citizens of Amarillo — are incompetent is distasteful,” Scherlen said.