North Heights holds forum for Amarillo candidates for school board, college, city

Michael Cuviello, Amarillo Globe-News
·2 min read

The Greater North Heights Neighborhood Association hosted a candidate forum Monday evening for those running for election in the Amarillo Independent School District, Amarillo College Board of Regents, Amarillo City Council and mayor at Carver Elementary School in Amarillo.

All six candidates for the Amarillo College Board of Regents participated in the event. Three of those six candidates will be elected to the board in the upcoming May election.

Candidates for Amarillo City Council Place 1 address the audience Monday night at the Greater North Heights Neighborhood Association candidate forum at Carver Elementary School in Amarillo.
Candidates for Amarillo City Council Place 1 address the audience Monday night at the Greater North Heights Neighborhood Association candidate forum at Carver Elementary School in Amarillo.

Incumbents Jay Barrett and Michelle Fortunato are seeking reelection to the board. Also running for the board position are Mike Yazbek, Jason Foglesong, Irene Hughes and Brady Clark.

Moderator David Lovejoy asks a question to candidates Monday night at the Greater North Heights Neighborhood Association candidate forum at Carver Elementary School in Amarillo.
Moderator David Lovejoy asks a question to candidates Monday night at the Greater North Heights Neighborhood Association candidate forum at Carver Elementary School in Amarillo.

All seven candidates for the Amarillo Independent School District Board of Trustees were on hand for the candidate forum. Kimberly Anderson and Dick Ford are seeking reelection.

Candidates for Amarillo College Board of Regents address the audience Monday night at the Greater North Heights Neighborhood Association candidate forum at Carver Elementary School in Amarillo.
Candidates for Amarillo College Board of Regents address the audience Monday night at the Greater North Heights Neighborhood Association candidate forum at Carver Elementary School in Amarillo.

Seeking their first term as AISD board members are Jon Mark Beilue, Ryan Brown, Connie Brown, Steve Trafton and Robin Leeah.

Candidates for Amarillo Independent School Board of Trustees address the audience Monday night at the Greater North Heights Neighborhood Association candidate forum at Carver Elementary School in Amarillo.
Candidates for Amarillo Independent School Board of Trustees address the audience Monday night at the Greater North Heights Neighborhood Association candidate forum at Carver Elementary School in Amarillo.

Both elections allow voters to cast up to three votes for each candidate or split their votes among candidates. The top three vote-getters in each of these elections will be elected to these boards.

Only three of the six mayoral candidates participated in the forum. Current councilmember Cole Stanley, Tonya Winston and Don Collins were at the event. Councilmember Freda Powell did greet people before the event but had another event scheduled.

Candidates for Amarillo City Council Place 2 address the audience Monday night at the Greater North Heights Neighborhood Association candidate forum at Carver Elementary School in Amarillo.
Candidates for Amarillo City Council Place 2 address the audience Monday night at the Greater North Heights Neighborhood Association candidate forum at Carver Elementary School in Amarillo.

The most crowded city council race, Place 1, had five of its seven candidates participate in the forum: Margie Gonzales, Dean Crump, Sherie Wood, Kelsey Richardson and Chip Hunt. Ray White, while still on the ballot, has withdrawn from the race. Claudette Smith made an appearance at the event but was unable to take part due to a prior engagement.

All three candidates for Place 2 were at the event; Don Tipps, Misty Vigil and Gabriel McHenry participated in the forum.

Candidates for Amarillo mayor address the audience Monday night at the Greater North Heights Neighborhood Association candidate forum at Carver Elementary School in Amarillo.
Candidates for Amarillo mayor address the audience Monday night at the Greater North Heights Neighborhood Association candidate forum at Carver Elementary School in Amarillo.

Place 3 also had all its candidates participating, with Katt Massey, John Adair and Tom Scherlen in attendance.

Only one candidate from Place 4 did not attend the event. Les Simpson, John Ingerson and Hobert "Gunny" Brown took questions from the panel featuring local radio hosts David Lovejoy and Chuck Williams.

Candidates for Amarillo City Council Place 3 address the audience Monday night at the Greater North Heights Neighborhood Association candidate forum at Carver Elementary School in Amarillo.
Candidates for Amarillo City Council Place 3 address the audience Monday night at the Greater North Heights Neighborhood Association candidate forum at Carver Elementary School in Amarillo.

Questions ranged from what the top priority would be if elected to these roles to their stances on single-member districts. Each group of candidates was given a couple of minutes to talk about themselves and also took a question from the audience.

The last day to register to vote in the upcoming election is Thursday, April 6.

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The first day of early voting begins April 24 and runs through May 2. The last day to apply for a ballot by mail is April 25.

Election Day is May 6.

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: North Heights holds candidate forum for Amarillo school, city seats