Joe West
Challenger for Amarillo City Council, Place 2
West/Photo by Campaign
Question: What is your age?
Answer: 33
Q: How long have you lived in Amarillo?
A: 12 years
Q: What is your educational background?
A: Attending Amarillo College
Q: What is your occupation?
A: Administrative Assistant at AC
Q: If you are a business owner, please list the business or businesses that you own.
A: N/A
Q: Please list any civic boards or commissions (non-profit, government, union, political, etc.) on which you have served as a board member or equivalent.
A: N/A
Q: If your campaign has any online campaign resources where voters can learn more about you, such as social media accounts or a website, please list them below.
A: https://joewest4amarillo.wixsite.com/home
Q: Why did you decide to run for this office in 2021?
A: I want to help people and running seems like a good way to go about it.
Q: If elected, what will be your top three priorities in office?
A: Work to implement single-member districts along with adding additional council seats. Work to improve communication between the City and citizens. Work to make it easier and more accessible for citizens to participate in the affairs of the City.
Q: What is your opinion on taxpayer-funded lobbying? Please explain.
A: I believe there's a time and place for it, but it'd be difficult to find a reason why I wouldn't do my best to ensure that I'm down there working for Amarillo alongside our State legislature while citizens at home know what we're working on and why.
Q: Do you support moving municipal elections to November of even-numbered years? Please explain.
A: Absolutely. I think it's an easy argument to make that state and nation-wide elections draw more voters out to have a say in how they want things to be ran. It's critical that we have as many voters in Amarillo having a say in how the City is ran.
Q: Do you support single-member districts for City Council representation? Please explain.
A: I support single-member districts. I think Amarillo has a diverse community and that needs to be reflected in the Council.
Q: In what cases would you support efforts to raise property taxes? Please explain.
A: There's some times I feel an increase in property taxes would garner my support. Civic programs, infrastructure repairs, City/neighborhood projects and more. Taxes help facilitate the local government to implement the will of the citizenry and increases in taxes are absolutely needed if you wish to have big projects and programs get done in the City. That said, I don't believe that a group of 5 people in the City should have the authority to make that decision on their own. Civil discourse and debate are needed anytime local government is unable to procure funds for projects through other means. The whole of the citizenry should have easy access to the who/what/when/where/why and how of any potential decisions that affect their livelihoods and have the opportunity to speak on the impact.
Q: In the 2020 general election, did you support or oppose Proposition A ($275 million Amarillo Civic Center and downtown projects bond)? Please explain.
A: I opposed. While I agree that the Civic Center needs to be addressed in the near future, I didn't think the plan proposed for Prop A was ideal.
Q: What is an issue you believe has gone overlooked in your race and how will you address it if elected?
A: I think having a large population of non-voters speaks volumes about underlying issues in the community. Elections shouldn't just be about getting angry at the people in office and focusing only on getting other people angry enough to vote. We should take a look at why potential voters aren't interested in doing their civic duty. Are they unable but willing? Able but unwilling? Are they apathetic to what goes on in the city? If so, why? I think addressing these questions will help us understand where we should be focusing our attention as a City.
Q: Why are you the best candidate for voters to support for this position?
A: I'd hardly say I'm the best candidate for the Council, but I'd do everything I could to be a good advocate and facilitator between the citizenry and the bureaucracy of local government. I'm just an average citizen whose only goal is to help out my neighbors.