Sallie Clark

Current role or occupation: business owner, consultant, and entrepreneur Formal education: Harvard Kennedy School of Business Senior Executive Leadership Program Graduate; Council of Local Authorities International Relations Fellowship Program; Women in Government Leadership Program; County Government Leadership Institute Graduate; certified medical assisting degree, X-ray technician certification Military service: Military Spouse, U.S. Navy Public service: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rural Development for Colorado (executive director); Colorado Springs city council;

I love this city. It’s my home. It’s the place where my husband of 42 years and I started a business over 36 years ago. It’s where I fought to save our local fire station, Fire Station 3 –my first (and accidental) step into public service. It’s where I served as a city councilmember, a utilities board member, and a county commissioner. And it’s where I was honored to be elected president of a national organization representing local governments, and selected as the Colorado state director of a federal agency advocating for rural communities. In serving you these many years, I’ve fought for our fair share, made tough decisions, and planned for the future. It’s about maintaining and improving quality of life — for all of us.

We share the same goals: kids who feel safe walking to good schools; clean streets; smooth roads; trails that are well-maintained and welcoming; and the assurance that our water and utility needs are met. I have a proven track record of achieving goals for Colorado Springs, for El Paso County, and for Colorado. Not a day goes by without crime, homelessness, affordable housing, and utility rate hikes making the headlines – I will tackle every problem! It concerns all of us, and that’s why I’m running for mayor of Colorado Springs. We live in a beautiful place, yet our city is at an important crossroads – we are no longer a small town, and growing requires that we come to terms with changes.

My unique experiences and background will allow me to address the issues facing our community. As a council member, I championed bringing an award-winning water delivery system to Colorado Springs. I continued that effort when I worked collaboratively as a county commissioner to form the Fountain Creek Watershed District and bring Pueblo County and the City of Pueblo together with the City of Colorado Springs to guarantee our most precious resource – water. Long-term planning for water resources and storage is criti-

Colorado Springs Utilities board; El Paso county commissioner; National Association of Counties president; neighborhood association president.

Colorado Springs resident: 37 years Skills to be effective: strategic communications, collaboration, financial management cal to smart growth as a city and to sustain our future needs. My experience and persistence on utility issues will be an important asset as mayor of Colorado Springs. You’ve likely seen your utility rates skyrocket under the current administration. A diversified energy portfolio is critical to reliability, reasonable rates, and our future.

Leadership tenets: Personnel is policy. Government has three responsibilities: public safety, education, and taking care of those who can’t take care of themselves. Seek first to understand, then to be understood.

Crisis tenets: Over communicate. Plan for crisis and exercise the plan.

As our city grows, we are facing another complex issue –homelessness. We are not alone in this; cities around the country have the same challenge. As our mayor, I will do my best to strike the perfect balance between being tough and compassionate at the same time.

The causes of homelessness are complex and, oftentimes, multigenerational. These include poverty; chronic health problems; substance abuse and mental health (behavioral health); domestic violence; legal issues; low-paying jobs; lack of educational opportunities, job training, and employment; lack of affordable housing; and a need for coordination of shelter, transitional, and permanent housing.

As our mayor, I will bring together allies to collaborate and tackle the root causes of homelessness. I will engage state and national experts, as well as leaders from healthcare; behavioral health; human services; criminal justice; employment; education; job training; shelters; transitional, permanent, and affordable housing; domestic violence; faith communities; neighborhoods; local businesses; and people in recovery. We will quickly learn about successes in our city and review successes of other cities. We will replicate accomplishments elsewhere and learn from other’s mistakes. We will adopt strategies that are proven to be the most effective. We will innovate – tailoring solutions to each individual – not take a one-size-fits-all approach.

The city does not control all the resources, as funding is spread across many agencies. This makes a team approach to homelessness even more important. As our mayor, I will review all grants and contracts the city oversees to make sure we are good stewards of public funds. We will collaborate to bring in additional resources through grants ,as needed.

I’m excited about this challenge and I have deep experience in bringing people together to solve complex problems, as a county commissioner and a local business owner. I spearheaded a collaborative team with city councilmembers, engaging the hospitals to support a community detox model that provided a place for those who might have otherwise been on the streets. And, when child fatalities had reached an