Longtime Colorado Springs leader Sallie Clark jumps into mayor's race
Oct. 21—Sallie Clark, a familiar face in Colorado Springs and El Paso County politics, is getting into the April race for mayor with a focus on public safety, addressing the rising cost of living, and maintaining quality of life in town.
Clark most recently worked on the federal level as the Colorado director for rural development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. She has also served on the Colorado Springs City Council and El Paso County Board of Commissioners. In addition to her experience in politics, she is also a longtime businesswoman in town as the owner of the Holden House 1902 Bed & Breakfast Inn.
"As a candidate, I have the ability to see perspectives from all sides," she said.
Clark is jumping into a somewhat crowded race with opponents including City Councilmembers Wayne Williams and Tom Strand, County Commissioner Longinos Gonzalez and businessmen Yemi Mobolade and Andrew Dalby. Darryl Glenn, a former county commissioner and city councilman, is also competing.
They are running to replace Mayor John Suthers, who is term limited in April and cannot run again. Candidates must all petition for a spot on the ballot and that process cannot start until January. Still, fundraising is already well underway for several campaigns, with Mobolade leading the pack with about $227,400 raised total. Gonzalez had raised about $152,400 total and Williams had about $143,742 on hand, the latest campaign filings showed.
Clark said she felt she had plenty of time after deciding to run a few weeks ago. She expects to formally kick off her campaign with an event in November.
If elected, she would focus on keeping neighborhoods safe. The Colorado Springs Police Department is currently short more than 100 police officers and seeing crime rates rise in town.
Clark would look for additional ways to boost recruitment, particularly from other communities that are seeing success.
"I like to get things on the path to solutions," she said.
She would also look to prepare the community for a national recession that by some measures is already underway.
"We need to plan for that and make sure we are still taking care of things," she said.
When it comes to water, an issue that grabbed headlines this week, with Utilities proposing a new rule that could limit city annexations, Clark said she would consider a variety of options, such as additional storage and water recycling. She has experience in this issue, as an official who worked on the Southern Delivery System pipeline from Pueblo Reservoir to Colorado Springs.
On taxes, she said she would keep rates in check and ensure the community is receiving its fair share of investment from higher levels of government.
Clark ran for mayor's seat before in 1999 and 2003, well before the city transitioned to the strong mayor system 2011.
