U.S. Rep. Ronny Jackson (R–Amarillo) expressed support this week for a citizen-led plan to put the Amarillo City Council’s latest push for debt in front of local voters.
On Monday, Jackson released a Facebook post supporting a petition drive led by businessman Craig Gualtiere to place a $35 million debt issuance on the ballot for voters to decide. The debt would fund the creation of a new city hall facility, despite voters turning down the option to fund a package that included the project as part of a bond election last November.
“Although a local issue and not really in my lane, many are concerned with the new effort to use certificates of obligation for a multimillion-dollar project that was defeated by the voters in the recent bond election,” Jackson posted. “I am and will ALWAYS be a believer that the taxpayers should have a voice in how their money is spent.”
Jackson went on to alert citizens that the petition drive to gather signatures to place the item on the ballot will include a petition signing opportunity at the Amarillo Republican Headquarters on Saturday, July 24, beginning at 10 a.m.
With his statement, Jackson has become the first major elected official in the Texas Panhandle to weigh in on the petition drive. Jackson similarly weighed in on the original bond election for this item in November before his election to the U.S. House, telling supporters through social media that the item seemed to be “the wrong plan at the wrong time.”
