During Tuesday’s regular meeting of the city of Amarillo’s city council, Amarillo Mayor Ginger Nelson was officially sworn in for another term, coming after candidate Claudette Smith challenged the race through recount proceedings after the results of the May 1 election.
According to previous reports by the Amarillo Globe-News, Nelson, along with Place One Council member Cole Stanley, Place Two Council member Freda Powell, Place Three Council member Eddy Sauer and Place Four Council member Howard Smith were all elected to their respective positions May 1.
However after the results came out, mayoral candidate Claudette Smith requested a recount for the mayor’s race. Because of the proceedings, it delayed the official canvassing and the swearing in of Nelson for this term as Mayor, something Nelson spoke about during the council meeting.
Ginger Nelson remains Amarilloâs Mayor after final recount results
VIDEO: Ginger Nelson remains Amarilloâs Mayor after final recount results By Tamlyn Cochran | May 12, 2021 at 9:42 PM CDT - Updated May 12 at 10:08 PM
AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) - The results of the recount of Amarilloâs Mayor Race are officially in and incumbent Ginger Nelson will remain the Mayor of Amarillo.
The city worked with the Secretary of State Office as well as Potter and Randall County Election officials to complete the manual recount of all ballots.
After candidate Claudette Smith filed a petition for the process, she received 29 percent of the vote to Nelsonâs 54 percent.
After Wednesday’s recount determined that the results from the May 1 mayoral election will stand, incumbent Ginger Nelson was filled with gratitude, telling the Globe-News how thankful she was for the individuals who worked on the recount, as well as the voters who participated in the election.
“I’m grateful for the voters who voted. We have a process that our elections go through and I have always had confidence in both the process and the people who work that process,” she said. “Our county and city staff are trained and very experienced and I trust the work that they do in this process, whether that was the May 1 election or the recount. I trust them and I’m grateful for how hard they work to follow that process so that voters can trust the process… My feelings from all of it are just how grateful I am to be an American and how thankful I am for the people who have worked on this process and have given their time so that we can be confident that the voters’ res
Ginger Nelson Officially Gets Her Second Term as Amarillo Mayor
Stick a fork in the Amarillo Mayors race it s done. The 4 way dance which let s really face it was between Incumbent Ginger Nelson and Claudette Smith and at times just got down right ugly. Yes, there were two other candidates, Michael Hunt and Carl Karas who each could have gotten more attention but the money was on Ginger and Claudette. I don t have a dog in this fight and I m just calling it as I see it being a newbie here.
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The Recount to Win Strategy
Tuesday’s meeting of the Amarillo City Council served as a milestone for two reasons.
First, the meeting was the first in-person meeting of the council in more than a year, with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic causing council meetings, and many other public meetings, to be conducted via video conferencing software.
Second, Tuesday s meeting served as the first one after May’s general election, where individuals cast their votes for the mayoral position as well as the city’s four council seats. The votes cast by Potter and Randall county residents were canvassed and official after unanimous approval from the city council.