The boards of the Potter-Randall Appraisal District are expected to cancel their upcoming election due to a lack of contested races.

The election was set to pit appointed Randall County board incumbent and professional appraiser Jason Ault against former Amarillo City Councilman and retired businessman Tom Scherlen. However, according to PRAD Chief Appraiser Jeffrey Dagley, Ault “withdrew his application.” At the time of publication Ault has not stated his reason for dropping out.

With Ault out of the race, none of the seats on either the Randall or Potter boards are contested. The applicants for the three seats in Potter were incumbent Tom Warren II, Hope McCoy, and John Adair. Appointed incumbents Jodie Wheeler and Craig Gualtiere did not choose to seek full terms. The applicants for the three seats in Randall were Claudette Smith, Mike Fisher, and Tom Scherlen. As mentioned above, appointed incumbent Jason Ault filed but withdrew, while his fellow appointed incumbents Claudia Burkett and Deborah Foster chose not to apply.

Since the creation of the directly elected seats on the appraisal district boards in 2024, there has not been a contested election for either the Potter or Randall boards.

The additions of Scherlen, Smith, Fisher, McCoy, and Adair to the boards could shift power as the two boards continue to move towards a contract renegotiation triggered by the discovery that the current 80’s-era contract essentially delegated all of the Potter County board’s voting power to Randall County. Some legal experts have cautioned that the existing contract may run afoul of existing state law against delegating core functions of government bodies. So far, Potter County has retained an attorney while Randall County has not.

The two boards are set to have their first joint meeting in months on September 8th, where they are expected to vote to cancel the election and certify the unopposed candidates as winning.