Roy D. McDowell for Mayor. Courtesy of Terry McDowell.

Web Editor’s Note: This is a part of our series on the candidates for Amarillo mayor. For more information on the race, check out this recent article! Also, be sure to check out the other interviews at the end of this article!

1. Why did you decide to run for mayor?

“I decided to run because I feel the citizens of Amarillo have gotten equal representation,” McDowell said.

Amarillo, he believes, has historically been overrepresented by the southwest part of the city.  “We’ve never had a mayor on the north side of Amarillo.”

The current city government, McDowell says, consists almost entirely of wealthier citizens who do not understand the problems facing most of the people of Amarillo.

“How can you represent people if you don’t know how they’ve lived, if they don’t know what it’s to like to not have enough money to last through the month. How can they speak for the people if they don’t have that experience?”

2. What are your goals as mayor?

“To keep Amarillo the great city it is. Bringing in new businesses, higher paying businesses,” McDowell said.

Another main goal of the candidate would be to deal with the water issues brought up by the drying of Amarillo’s main source of water, the Ogallala Aquifer.

“Get a pipeline up here,” he said. It’s going to take years of hard work and research, he adds, but it needs to be done now. “Without water, we might as well pick up and leave.”

The last of his main goals is to deal with Amarillo’s debt.

“Another vision I have for Amarillo is that we can stand up and say we’re debt-free!”

Some of the other issues in McDowell’s campaign are getting more police officers and making Amarillo safer. He is also against funding the renovation of downtown Amarillo with taxpayer money.

“I don’t see any way you can do that without raising taxes,” McDowell said. “We don’t need to spend one dollar of taxpayer’s money rejuvenating downtown.”

3. Why should people vote for you?

“I’m an independent,” McDowell said. “I’m not swayed by any group. I take my cue from the people. They want somebody with integrity. And,” he adds, “I think people like me.”

4. Is there anything else you’d like to say?

“The federal government is so far in debt that we’re totally broke. The state government is totally broke,” McDowell said. “Our state is insolvent. We don’t our city to become insolvent.”

For more information on candidate McDowell, check out his campaign web site.

More Amarillo Mayor Candidate Interviews

1. Sandra (F.E. Dunaway) Dunn

Sandra Dunn (F.E. Dunaway). Courtesy of Sandra Dunn.

Web Editor’s Note: This is a part of our series on the candidates for Amarillo mayor. For more information on the race, check out this recent article! Also, be sure to check out the other interviews at the end of this article!

1. Why did you decide to run for mayor?

I noticed Mayor McCart was not seeking re-election, and I felt I had the qualifications and the education to do the job of Mayor. I have experience with different government entities, worked for the city and understand the workings of the city. Friends suggested I seek election for Mayor.

2. What are your goals as mayor?

Like many of the other candidates, to bring jobs to Amarillo. This may require us bringing jobs back to the United States, namely here. I would like to see the city utilize more “Green” resources and procedures. There is a need for more law enforcement on the streets and this will take some time to investigate and find the optimum solution. I want to encourage neighborhoods to develop an association to address their neighborhood concerns, assist in law enforcement, and become active in the municipal government.

3. Why should people vote for you?

I believe in government by the people and a responsible government. Major expenditures not related to the infrastructure should be decided by the people. Infrastructure requiring an additional long term overall expense should receive serious considerations and possibly voter approval. After all, it is supposed to be our city and yes we do elect a commission to handle certain issues; still there are some issues that the voter needs to weigh in on.

4. Is there anything else you’d like to say?

Water is an issue we will need to keep on top of. Some are saying with the Pickens purchase we are set for 200 years; [Lake] Meredith was a project that was to assist in our water solution. In 200 years, yes, we will all be gone and it’ll be someone else’s problem; is that what we are suppose to do, slough it off on someone else to fix? Water is a Panhandle problem and we need to start now on addressing it so that we do not need to worry about in the future.

There is an issue that we are seeing in the school systems concerning the cuts from the federal government and the state government. The cuts coming from the federal and state level has yet to be fully realized on the local level and the incoming commission will have some serious decisions to make concerning those cuts and not raising taxes.

For more information on candidate Dunn, check out her campaign page on Facebook.

More Amarillo Mayor Interviews

1. Roy D. McDowell