Sallie Clark
Mayoral candidate Sallie Clark announced she’s captured the endorsement of the city’s first strong mayor, Steve Bach.
Bach served from 2011 to 2015 and did not seek re-election. He was succeeded by John Suthers, who backs City Councilor Wayne Williams for mayor.
“This is to offer my strong endorsement of Sallie Clark to be our next Colorado Springs Mayor,” Bach said in a statement. “I have known Sallie well for decades and during my time as the city’s first elected Mayor in the new ‘Strong Mayor’ form of government, Sallie and I worked closely together on numerous important initiatives for the community including the Waldo Canyon Fire recovery. This is a critical moment for our community in public safety, affordable housing, and managed water resources. Sallie is a person of high character and integrity with decades of experience leading our community forward for the benefit of everyone.”
Steve Bach
Clark served as a county commissioner from 2005 to 2017.
“I am humbled by Mayor Bach’s endorsement,” Clark said in her release. “Steve led Colorado Springs through some of our darkest days. On the good days anyone can be Mayor but on the bad days like Waldo Canyon on Mayor Bach’s watch or the coming storm of rising crime, homelessness, drugs and drought; Colorado Springs needs a mayor with the experience that I offer to the citizens.”
The League of Women Voters of the Pikes Peak Region offers the nonpartisan election resource VOTE411.org. This is a one-stop shop for election information that provides voters with simple, accessible tools to help them navigate the voting process. VOTE411 provides personalized candidate information, voter registration details, polling place locations, and other helpful election information for all voters nationwide, the League said in a release.
The League has hosted several candidate forums with co-sponsors, created a video contest for Gen Z to share their thoughts on “why Gen Z should vote in local elections”, and has hosted many voter registration drives.
“With resources available in both English and Spanish, VOTE411 helps millions each year — many of them young people and first-time voters — learn more about what’s on their ballot, where candidates stand on the issues, how to find their polling place, and more,” the release said.
Ballots were mailed March 10 and must be returned by 7 p.m. on April 4. Register to vote at GoVoteColorado.gov. Allow seven days for transit through the mail. Better yet, find a ballot drop box here.
Integrity Matters, a nonprofit activist group, is pushing the issue on use of fire assets by political campaigns by seeking permission to film at Colorado Springs Fire Department’s headquarters, 375 Printers Parkway.
Here’s some background on this issue.
In a letter to the city, Integrity Matters said, “We would like the same access to facilities, equipment and fire department personnel as was granted to mayoral candidate Wayne Williams.”
The city made files available about its investigation, which can be downloaded here.
Send items of interest in the April 4 city election to pzubeck@sixty35.org