John Smithee is the 2026 Amarillo Pioneer of the Year/Graphic by Amarillo Pioneer
Earlier this year, we invited our readers to submit nominees for our annual award that recognizes the person who has had the single greatest impact on our city over the past year. From our pool of nominations, 19 finalists were chosen. And in this year’s voting, our readers spoke loud and clear.
The 2026 Amarillo Pioneer of the Year Award is given to State Rep. John Smithee.
Representative Smithee is finishing his last term in Austin as we write this article. A mainstay of the Texas Panhandle, Smithee was first elected to the Texas House in 1984 and has held the District 86 seat ever since. In his most recent election for the Texas House, Smithee cruised to victory over Jamie Haynes with more than three-quarters of the vote.
After winning nomination for his 21st term in office, Smithee was one of the leading candidates to be the Republican caucus’s nominee for Texas House Speaker. While Smithee ultimately withdrew from the race that came down to Dustin Burrows and David Cook, his appearance in the race and his influence over the contest were felt far and wide.
Smithee had a very successful general legislative session in 2025, authoring or coauthoring seven different bills that were ultimately signed by the governor. Smithee also sponsored 12 more bills that became law after reaching the governor’s desk during this session.
When Smithee announced his retirement from office this fall, many Amarillo voters were stunned. The elder statesman and respected Republican Party leader is known as one of the foremost pillars of the party in Austin. His impact cannot be overstated, and here he is, willingly riding off into the sunset after more than 40 years of hard work for Texas Panhandle families.
John Smithee might be imitated by future lawmakers, but he will never again be duplicated. His unique brand of conservative statesmanship will be deeply missed in Austin when he walks away next December. For this reason, then, it’s no surprise that our readers chose Smithee to be the 2026 Amarillo Pioneer of the Year.