Educate, Promote, Activate
Several Ballot Props Fail, but Trump and Cruz Won, and Republicans Take the Senate
As you may know, we at the Amarillo Area Young Republicans made several endorsements for local ballot measures. We poured our blood, sweat, and tears into Proposition A, the Sanctuary City for the Unborn (SCFTU) referendum, and despite our efforts, it failed by 18 points. This is a crushing defeat, and Amarilloans have made it clear that they do not want it. We do not regret supporting it though, as it is in line with our values as well as our Party platform. The fact that we stood firm in the face of intense opposition, including Women’s March, the Amarillo Reproductive Freedom Alliance (ARFA) and many others, is a testament to our character. That said, if you don’t think the Democrats and the radical Left are claiming Prop A’s defeat as a major victory for them, then I have some ocean-side property for you in Kansas. They are going to try and use Prop A’s defeat to unravel the Texas Heartbeat Act, as the SCFTU ordinance would’ve used the same enforcement mechanism that the Heartbeat Act uses. As a matter of fact, they are already considering it. Prop A’s opponents claimed it would “turn neighbors against neighbors,” the same criticism Leftists levied against the Heartbeat Act when it was being discussed. We must not let the radical Left use Prop A’s defeat to overturn our pro-life laws in Texas, and we at the Amarillo Area YRs won’t let them without a fight.
That said, there is still work to be done in the pro-life movement in Amarillo and the state of Texas. We at the Amarillo Area YRs will work with our legislators, the Texas Young Republican Federation, and statewide pro-life organizations to close the “dead baby loophole,” as unborn children aborted out of state deserve a proper burial and should not be treated like common garbage, which is precisely what a local Amarillo company is currently doing.
Several other local ballot props failed as well. Prop B, which would’ve added 2 City Council seats (and thus potentially force Amarillo to implement single-member districts), failed. Prop C, which would’ve expanded the term lengths of the City Council to 4 years and staggered their terms, failed (4-year City Council terms failed in 2020 as well). Prop D, which would’ve provided Amarillo with much needed recall election reform, unfortunately failed. Prop E, which updated the Council vacancy-filling provisions and implemented resign-to-run for Councilmembers, passed, and was the only proposition on the ballot in Amarillo to pass. Finally, Canyon ISD’s Prop A, yet another tax increase, failed.
Despite disappointments at the local level, the Republicans had a few miracles last night. Most importantly, Donald Trump secured a second term to the White House! Trump won Texas by solid margins, and Senator Ted Cruz won his reelection handily as well. Speaking of the Senate, Republicans across the country secured a major victory by ensuring 51 Senate seats, securing a majority in the upper house of Congress. Republicans are currently on track to hold the House of Representatives (as of writing, the Associated Press has the House at 200R-181D), and one of our own members, Caroline Fairly, won her election to the Texas House of Representatives in HD-87. These are all huge wins for Texas and America, and the effects of this success will benefit and strengthen Amarillo and the Panhandle.
Sincerely,
Jacob A. Meyer
President, Amarillo Area YRs
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The Amarillo Area Young Republicans are a group of young Republicans in the Texas Panhandle who seek to educate, promote, and activate the next generation of Republican leaders. Eligibility for active membership is available to Republicans in the Texas Panhandle between the ages of 18 and 40.
Amarillo Area YRs Support Amarillo Ballot Props A, B, D and E, Oppose C; Oppose CISD Prop A; and Support all Republican candidates on the ballot this November
On Monday, September 9th, 2024, the Amarillo Area Young Republicans (AAYRs, Amarillo Area YRs) Endorsement Committee met to discuss the Organization’s official stances on the proposed ballot propositions facing the cities of Amarillo and Canyon this November. As a Republican youth organization, we firmly support any Republican candidate on the ballot in both Potter and Randall counties, even those whom we did not endorse during the primaries earlier this year. We also support ballot measures that are in line with the latest edition of the Republican Party of Texas (RPT) Party Platform. Here are the official recommendations of the Amarillo Area YRs for the proposed ballot propositions in both Amarillo and Canyon this year:
Amarillo Prop A- FOR.
Many of our members have been working hard to get the Sanctuary City for the Unborn (SCFTU) Ordinance passed in the City of Amarillo. In the Spring, we participated in the citizen initiative petition process to gather the necessary number of signatures to force a vote of the Amarillo City Council on the lifesaving measure which would further prohibit abortion and would prohibit abortion trafficking in the City of Amarillo through various provisions. Our members also spoke at the dais at City Hall in favor of the City Council passing the measure, and we were disappointed when the City Council failed to pass it, despite it being supported by some of Texas’s strongest pro-life elected officials and is fully in line with the Republican Party of Texas 2024 Party Platform. As it now heads to the ballot this November, the AAYRs’ Endorsement Committee unanimously reaffirmed the Amarillo Area YRs’ support for the Amarillo SCFTU ordinance and we are FOR Prop A.
The ordinance contains six provisions:
1. Prohibits performing elective abortions and aiding or abetting elective abortions under local law by extending the private enforcement mechanism found in the Texas Heartbeat Act from the point of a detectable heartbeat to the point of conception;
2. Prohibits elective abortions on residents of Amarillo, and the abortion trafficking of such residents outside the state of Texas;
3. Prohibits the abortion trafficking of an unborn child through the city;
4. Prohibits abortion-inducing drugs within the city;
5. Prohibit organizations violating federal abortion laws from doing business with or receiving grants from the city;
6. Prohibit the transportation and disposal of the remains of unborn children killed by elective abortions in the city.
Unfortunately, much misinformation has been spread about this ordinance – including from our own elected officials. The proposed Amarillo SCFTU Ordinance is not enforced by the City of Amarillo nor by any law enforcement entity. The ordinance does not allow for traffic stops, arrests, nor any type of jail-time for violators of the ordinance. In fact, the proposed ordinance explicitly prohibits law enforcement from enforcing the ordinance - guaranteeing that there will be no checkpoints as some have propagated. The proposed ordinance is enforced through the filing of lawsuits by private citizens. This is the same way the Texas Heartbeat Act is enforced – by a private right of action which gives standing to private citizens to sue those who violate the ordinance. Again, it is not enforced by the government, so no fines or jail time will be given to those who violate it, nor will taxpayer dollars be used on law enforcement activities in order to enforce it. Similar SCFTU ordinances have been passed across Texas and, according to news outlets on both sides of the political spectrum, ordinances that ban abortion trafficking have saved unborn lives by causing cancellations at abortion mills in the State of New Mexico. According to the Texas Observer, “When news broke that Lubbock County would be considering an abortion travel ban, every patient from Dallas canceled their appointments at the Albuquerque clinic.” Based on our research, these ordinances containing the private right of action that prohibit abortion trafficking do indeed save the lives of unborn children. These ordinances have encouraged many considering abortion to cancel their abortion appointments in other states and choose life for their unborn children instead, despite no lawsuits having been filed under any SCFTU ordinance in Texas so far. It should also be noted that the author of this ordinance, Jonathan F. Mitchell (an attorney who is notable for getting Donald Trump back on the ballot in Colorado), has offered to represent the City of Amarillo at no cost to the City and its taxpayers. He promised the same to the City of Lubbock back in 2020, and fulfilled it when Planned Parenthood sued the City of Lubbock to try and stop the ordinance that from going into effect after Prop A (Lubbock SCFTU) passed in May of 2021.
Another big aspect of this ordinance is the prohibition on waste management companies from transporting or disposing of the remains of unborn children – treating such remains as waste. Current state law unfortunately allows this loophole, and even worse is that a local waste company, BioCycle / Oncore Technology, LLC, has been involved in the business of transporting and disposal of abortion “waste” from Planned Parenthoods in states like New Mexico, Kansas, and California. Some of those remains, of dead unborn human beings, have been disposed of right here in Amarillo – like common garbage. The bodies of unborn human beings should not be treated like medical waste alongside a used IV needle and bloody gloves. This is a sickening and despicable act and one that is a disgrace to the dignity of every human life. To quote Tara Shaver of Abortion Free New Mexico, “The fact that abortion is illegal in Texas but aborted babies from states including New Mexico can be disposed of, in a pro-life state like Texas, by BioCycle Healthcare Waste Management Services is egregious.” This ordinance prohibits any company from disposing of aborted fetal remains within the City of Amarillo, and members of the Amarillo Area YRs will work with the Texas Young Republican Federation (TYRF), our state legislators, and pro-life activists to make sure we pass legislation at the state level to ban the practice as well.
Finally, the proposed Amarillo SCFTU Ordinance represented in Prop A is in full alignment with a multitude of pro-life planks adopted in the Republican Party of Texas (RPT) 2024 Party Platform passed in San Antonio, Texas. Some of these pro-life planks are, as follows:
53. Prohibit Abortion Transportation Across State Lines: We support legislation to prohibit the use of any government funds, as well as the transportation of pregnant women across Texas’ state lines for the purpose of procuring an elective abortion and for the provision of a private right of action against all persons and organizations who aid and abet in the harming of the woman and the killing of her preborn child.
129. Home and Community-Based Services: . . . we ask that families be provided with information about life-affirming social and medical services available to them in Texas as alternatives to abortion and costly institutional care.
141. Support for the Sanctity of Life: The Republican Party of Texas supports programs that provide assistance to pregnant women and promote the sanctity of life.
143. Medical Emergencies within Pro-Life Laws: We support the current medical emergency exception laws which include the management of confirmed ectopic pregnancies, which are not to be considered abortions. We do not support inaccurate arguments against abortion which occur due to false and misleading rhetoric. The abortion law does not need to be altered, but implementation does need to be addressed. We urge the Legislature and health agencies to educate and inform medical professionals and the public about the law of medical emergency exceptions. The mother’s life remains the primary consideration in providing emergency care exceptions in the management of ectopic pregnancies and complicated preterm premature rupture of the membrane (PPROM).
194(l). Pro-Life: Until the abolition of abortion is achieved, we support… the right of Texas municipalities to protect mothers and their preborn children in their communities by passing enforceable city ordinances that further ban abortions within their city limits, closing loopholes in state abortion laws.
194(j). Pro-Life: Until the abolition of abortion is achieved, we support… Extend[ing] the private cause of action used in the Texas Heartbeat Act to all pro-life laws and policies in Texas.
At the end of the day, we are a Republican youth organization who seek to educate people on the Republican Party platform and promote measures that will fulfill it. Since the proposed Amarillo Sanctuary City for the Unborn Ordinance directly fulfills multiple Party Platform Planks of the latest edition of the Party Platform of the Republican Party of Texas, we offer our unwavering support for Prop A.
Amarillo Prop B- FOR. Normally, we would be against increasing the size of our government; however, we also believe that our city’s legislative body should be reflective of the size of its constituency. The AAYRs’ E.C. unanimously voted in favor of this year’s Prop B because Amarillo is not a small town- it is a city with over 200,000 residents, and it’s time that we start acting like it.
This Charter Amendment would add two (2) seats to the City Council, and by doing so it will reflect the growing size of our city and help make us more competitive with cities of similar size, such as Lubbock. Furthermore, our City Council members are paid very little (so little that it will likely cost more to purchase and install the physical seats at City Hall than it will to pay 2 City Councilmembers for their work), so it won’t break the bank to add 2 more seats to the council. Plus, we could always use a couple more people overseeing the city budget.
Amarillo Prop C- AGAINST. The E.C. voted almost unanimously against this Charter Amendment because our city council members should not have longer term lengths than our Congressional representative. To quote one E.C. member, “If Dr. Ronny Jackson can run for office every two years, so can our City Council members.”
It should also be noted that this isn’t the first time in recent history that the Amarillo City Council has attempted to increase its own term lengths: Proposition B in November 2020 attempted to increase the Council’s term lengths to 4 years as well, and it failed.
Amarillo Prop D- FOR. The current recall provision in our City Charter makes it impossible to actually recall any elected official in Amarillo. This Charter Amendment fixes that by eliminating the need for 1/5th of signers to certify that they voted for the person being recalled (which is legally impossible AND is a great way to get cussed out by residents (or worse) during signature gathering), doubling the amount of time to collect signatures (this amendment would allow up to 60 days to gather signatures), and reducing the amount of signatures required to initiate a recall election against an elected city official.
It is believed by those on the E.C. that had the recall measures proposed under Prop D been in place years ago, the previous Mayor of Amarillo, Ginger Nelson, would have been recalled, or at least there would have been a very serious effort to do so (especially after she banned clapping at City Hall and had a veteran arrested over it; to quote the E.C. Chairman and the AAYRs’ Chapter President Jacob Meyer, “Only a tyrant would do something like that!”).
Amarillo Prop E- FOR. This Charter Amendment revises our vacancy-filling provisions to be in line with current state law, thus preventing a potential future lawsuit that would be footed by the taxpayers, and also implements a resign-to-run provision for city officials who seek to be elected to higher office. The AAYRs’ E.C. unanimously voted to support this Charter Amendment.
Canyon ISD Prop A- AGAINST. We oppose unnecessary tax increases such as this one. One member of the Endorsement Committee was quoted saying, “Please do not raise my property taxes and price me out of the home that I just bought.”
The AAYRs are a group of young Republicans in the Texas Panhandle who seek to educate, promote, and activate the next generation of Republican leaders. Eligibility for active membership is available to Republicans in the Texas Panhandle between the ages of 18 and 40.
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