By Thomas Warren III, Editor-in-Chief

On Saturday night, voters here in Amarillo elected one brand new face to our City Council — Cole Stanley.

A political newcomer, there seems to be quite a bit to be hopeful about for Stanley’s tenure. Throughout his campaign, Stanley was not afraid of talking about the daylight that existed between his policy positions and those held by other members of the City Council. Stanley also highlighted some specific issues he would like to tackle, such as making our municipal government more responsive to the needs of business owners.

It was also a positive signal during his campaign that Stanley never lashed out at either of his two opponents — Hobert “Gunny” Brown and Jason Tillery — and was very complimentary in nature to both candidates. This was in stark contrast to other races on the ballot where candidates seemed to be frequently at odds with one another.

With Cole Stanley coming into office, there are reasons to be hopeful that he could be a good City Councilman for Amarillo. At the same time, voters must also carefully watch Stanley to ensure that his positions are in line with the desires of the community and values expressed by his campaign during his bid for office.

If Stanley commits himself to being a fighter for low taxes and small government, and not an asset of the special interests, then there is a lot to be hopeful about when it comes to what a Councilman Cole Stanley could mean for our city.