The following are the complete and unedited responses submitted by the candidate listed below to the Amarillo Pioneer’s Candidate Questionnaire.
Mike Yazbek/Photo by Yazbek Campaign
Name: Mike Yazbek
Office Sought: Potter County Democratic Chairman
Party Affiliation: Democratic
Age: 66
Educational Background: US Army Public Information Specialist/Photojournalist, Defense Information School, Ft. Harrison, Indiana, Amarillo College Radio-TV Production, Texas State Technical College Professional Trucking Operations
Occupation: Self-employed sharpener of beautician scissors and restaurant kitchen knives
If you are a business owner, please list the business or businesses that you own.
Sharpening By Mike
Please list any civic boards or commissions (non-profit, government, union, religious, political, etc.) on which you have served as a board member or equivalent.
Former Parish Council Member, St. John Eastern Orthodox Church, former Potter County Republican Vice Chair
Have you previously held or do you currently hold any elected office? If so, what office(s)?
Potter County Precinct 427 chair person.
If your campaign has any online campaign resources where voters can learn more about you, such as social media accounts or a website, please list them below.
n/a
Why did you decide to run for this office in 2024?
The Democratic Party of Potter County needs stable leadership from someone who has the time to dedicate to the job during a Presidential Election Year. I have that time.
If elected, what will be your top three priorities in office?
1. Recruit and fill all vacant executive committee positions by recruiting precinct chairs in Potter County,
2. Recruit and support any and all candidates who decide to run for office in Potter County elections as a party member, and finally, and most importantly,
3. Return the elections to the voters via a return to precinct voting and get away from the disenfranchisement of centralized voting locations. There are too many voters who cannot or are unwilling to go to centralized polling places because there is a general distrust of the current administration in Potter County and a total lack of transparency in the current centralized polling system. The voting needs to be returned to the people of Potter County via an elected elections person, not an administrator who cannot be terminated due to civil service laws protecting their jobs. There needs to be 100 percent accountability for all ballots cast, and the present system does not allow this to happen due to its very nature. This should be a priority for both the Democratic AND Republican Parties of Potter County, and as such, by reaching out to the other party we can return the power of the polls to the precinct members.
What is an issue you believe has gone overlooked in your race and how will you address it if elected?
There is entirely too much attention being paid to national issues that are already decided and not enough attention to the needs of the voters in Potter County, such as homelessness, availability of resources and the inability of the public schools to teach the basic skills to survive in both life and business.
Do you have any notable endorsements you would like to highlight for voters?
N/A
Why are you the best candidate for voters to support for this position?
I have the experience as a vice chair, a precinct chair and the time to devote to the job at hand, which is to organize the party in such a way that it is returned to the general membership as a whole, and not to just fringe groups who are trying to take over the nation.