The Nuttiness around Amarillo’s AEDC

I’m going to regret this.

The thing about watching an implosion of our dear local governance is to acknowledge we, the people, elect some of the most incompetent boneheads to sit in front of microphones and talk in circles, all the while forgetting they’re there to do work for us.

Today is no exception. And it’s all about this thing called the Amarillo Economic Development Corporation.

A brief history: in 1989 people in Amarillo agreed to kickstart some economic development and voted to form this “corporation” (a vaguely menacing term) to do it. This was the start of the AEDC, and it takes half a penny of sales tax from every $100 to use as “incentives” for companies to come to Amarillo. I put the word incentives in bunny quotes because that singular word covers a whole host of sins. For example, the AEDC gave Amazon an $2.5 million dollar incentive to build its warehouse. Amazon. Jeff Bezos. You know. Those guys.

But this is how it works. Companies shake down cities for the best deal and then take the cash for, sometimes, a minor return to the city. The city hopes for the best. We all hope for the best. We can argue all day long about the value of these investments (does money to a film studio really pay off? How about buying the cover of Inc. Magazine to promote Amarillo?). I will say though, as much as I belittle something like the Amazon deal, I know many people who have worked or are working there. These things do indeed change lives.

Regardless of my petty arguments, the AEDC has a board of directors who are supposed to make the best decisions on how they spend our money. Look, Cinergy ended up being a pretty good deal for the city. I know firsthand they had threatened to go someone else if not for a tax incentive (see THE GAME above).

Today, though, most of the AEDC board resigned leaving just one board member all alone. The gist of the resignations is this: the mayor and city council have created such a rift with the current AEDC board through insults, accusations, and general jerkiness that some well-meaning people serving as volunteers said enough was enough. And, man, I get it.

You can read all about the facts of the chaos here:

https://amarillotribune.org/2024/11/11/four-members-of-aedc-board-resign/

What I’d like to talk about is the deeper why behind things.

There’s been a movement for the past few years to dismantle the AEDC. No doubt some of you have seen the crazy pants billboards flashing this very message like a carnival barker on I-40. The people behind this think, hey, keep that extra half a penny in your pocket because big gov-mint can’t possible do anything good with it.

It’s this kind of intellectually bankrupt, bad faith argument that keeps crushing growth and opportunity.

Yes, we should evaluate and understand the decisions the AEDC makes, but the city council should do it professionally and with a modicum of respect (if such a thing exists anymore, especially in our local politics). Having a concentrated focus on true economic development that is responsive and responsible to all of us is a valuable thing. The hard truth is this: if we want real growth or significant company investment in our region, we have to acknowledge the incentive game that people play ALL THE TIME.

One of the board members, Scott Bentley, wrote this incisive sentence in his resignation letter: “Economic development is a very competitive industry, and business prospects take note when there is disfunction within the city.”

Good grief, brother. Preach it. A sniff of city political crazy and people run away. Don’t I know it.

Yet Dude on City Council Les Simpson leaves us with this vacuous bit of elected leader wisdom: “It is very important the Amarillo Economic Development Corp. is transparent in handling taxpayer money. The council is working to accomplish that by tightening and clarifying AEDC policies and protocols.” (Fun fact, these meaningless two sentences were brought to you by the guy who used to the publisher of the local newspaper! It’s yet another dagger in the heart of clarity and pithiness, replaced by what I can only gather is a fiendishly sloppy attempt at using AI to write a press release.)

And then there’s the mayor who gave this thoughtful and articulate answer when asked about all this AEDC drama: “Happy Veterans Day! It's very fitting on this holiday to thank all those who have served in multiple capacities. Including those on our AEDC board. Thank you for your service.”

This is also known as being a dick.

And having a dick mayor is not something that inspires civic pride.

Or economic development.

So cheers to our zombified elected corpses who prattle and preen and bully and who will then fill the AEDC board with the same type of prattlers and preeners and bullies, and we all can watch more and more opportunities slip away.