Agriculture, water, transportation, growth and economic development are all being discussed at city halls across West Texas. So why not better communicate ideas?
That, according to The Amarillo Globe News, is the reasoning behind a coalition of sorts that mayors – including Amarillo’s Ginger Nelson – recently formed.
The group, which also includes mayors from Lubbock, Big Spring, Midland, Odessa and San Angelo, met in a closed meeting Wednesday.
Afterward, during a news conference, Nelson said the group intends to advocate, as a whole, for West Texas and that she gained insight into how other mayors address challenges related to infrastructure, crime and citizen engagement.
Lubbock Mayor Dan Pope said even though less than 15 percent of the state’s population lives in West Texas, there are many resources in the area that the state counts on, like oil and gas, cotton, or beef cattle.
The meeting Wednesday took place one day after Nelson and Pope signed a letter with 16 other mayors requesting a meeting with Gov. Greg Abbott to discuss some items on the special legislative session agenda that they believe target local control.
