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PrintJohn Clark, a proponent of planned, conservative growth, will once again challenge four-term incumbent Mayor Darwin Hindman in April’s election, he said Thursday.
“Yes, I’m running,” Clark said. Clark, clad in a green jacket and leaning on a long-handled ice scraper, had just spent much of the day braving the cold and collecting the required signatures to get his name on the ballot. He filed his petition with City Clerk Sheela Amin just before the 5 p.m. deadline.
Clark cited a need for a change in the leadership of the City Council and better planning for growth in Columbia as two primary reasons for running. He said the city deserves a contested election, otherwise, “nothing will ever change.”
Clark, who lost a bid to upset Hindman in the 2004 mayoral election, said that while he respects the mayor, “twelve years is long enough.”
Hindman welcomed Clark to the race but said he felt a sense of déja vu.
“For the last election, at the very last moment, Clark filed and ran against me,” Hindman said. “I ran on my record, my experience and my promise to do a good job, and I won that election by a wide margin. So, here we go again. He files at the very last minute, and I intend to run on my experience and my record, which I’m very proud of. And I promise to do a great job for the community.”
Clark, a Columbia resident since 1968, is a certified public accountant and attorney. He is a familiar face at City Council meetings, frequently addressing the council on development, infrastructure and other issues. He has long been a leader of the North Central Columbia Neighborhood Association and was a driving force behind the creation of the city's new ordinances regarding chronic nuisances.
Clark won 26 percent of the vote in his 2004 bid for mayor, a three-way race that also included Arch Brooks. Clark made the news last fall when First Ward Councilwoman Almeta Crayton told police that he had made a threatening visit to her home to sway her vote against a zoning issue involving a grocery store and other development at Garth Avenue and Sexton Road.
Fourth Ward Councilman Jim Loveless, who is not seeking re-election, said he admires Clark’s ability to generate ideas, but also said he would not like to see Clark as the next mayor.
“John Clark is a committee killer,” Loveless said. “If you want to make a committee dysfunctional, put John Clark on it. He does not build consensus. In fact, he does just the opposite.”
Clark acknowledged he’ll be fighting an uphill battle.
“If I’m going to win, I’m going to need the support of a lot of people I don’t know,” he said.
With the filing deadline past, the stage is set for all three council races. Community activist Karl Skala and business owner Gary Kespohl will compete for the Third Ward seat being vacated by Bob Hutton, while Jerry Wade and Mike Holden, both members of the Planning and Zoning Commission, will compete for the Fourth Ward seat that Loveless is leaving.
Council members are volunteers who serve three-year terms.
Missourian reporter Sean Sposito contributed to this report.
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