Yemi Mobolade’s newest endorsement shakes up Colorado Springs mayoral run-off election

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Yemi Mobolade, one of the two remaining candidates for Colorado Springs mayor, received an endorsement from his former opponent, possibly changing the voting landscape for the upcoming mayoral run-off.

On the steps of city hall in front of dozens of Mobolade supporters, Sallie Clark announced her endorsement for the small business owner Thursday afternoon.

“He's the right person to lead our city, to look for new ideas and new innovation and bring us into the next four years with some really significant solutions,” Clark said.

Clark said she endorsed Mobolade instead of her Republican party counterpart and mayoral candidate Wayne Williams because her values were more similar to Mobolade’s, including affordable housing and reducing crime.

“They really aligned and mirrored mine,” she said. “Almost word for word, the things that he cares about, I care about.”

Mobolade said he hopes the conservative endorsement brings more Republican voters to his base. In the general municipal election, Mobolade received nearly 30% of all votes.

“I hope we get some more Republican votes,” he said. “But right now, my campaign is strong. We have run a grassroots movement that touches Republicans, touches Democrats, and touches Independents as well.”

The rest of the general election votes were spread out amongst a long list of conservatives. Williams received 19.22% of the votes, while Clark finished third with 17.82%. The question now becomes who will Clark’s voters turn to in the run-off?

“I don't assume that everyone that voted for me will support Yemi,” Clark said. “I certainly hope that they look to me and say, ‘There's credibility in this campaign.’”

Josh Dunn, a political science professor at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, said most of the Clark's voters will go to Williams but a percentage will vote for Mobolade.

"If he can pick up enough of those dissatisfied conservative voters, he might be able to win the runoff election," Dunn said. "It's not quite like it has been in the past. It's a narrow path to victory, but it's there."

Supporters for Mobolade hope that’s exactly what happens too. Lori Bautista knocked on doors for Mobolade’s campaign. She said some conservative voters are turned off by Mobolade because Williams sent out mail ads accusing Mobolade of being a liberal. Bautista said she hopes Clark’s endorsement changes that narrative.

“The fact that we do have a conservative who's coming alongside saying, ‘I have the same values. I have the same desires for our city.’ I think it's going to be huge,” Bautista said.

After the general election, Williams said he contacted Clark to schedule a meeting, but he said she wasn’t interested.

“Apparently, she thought (Mobolade’s) values lined up more with hers than with Colorado Springs,” Williams said.

Dunn said Williams still has the advantage but the race is closer than previous mayoral runoffs.

After the general election, Williams told KRDO he was going to win the conservative vote in the run-off. Even after Clark’s endorsement of Mobolade on Thursday, he still believes that to be true.

“I am the candidate who actually has the record of delivering government services in an innovative way, but that is friendly to the taxpayers and keeps costs low,” Williams said. “I have those conservative values that match our community here in Colorado Springs.”

On Thursday, Williams announced he received endorsements from the majority of the Colorado Springs City Council, including Randy Helms, Lynette Crow-Iverson, Dave Donelson, Mike O’Malley, and David Leinweber. He believes that endorsements are more important than Clark’s.

“I believe the stronger endorsement is from the actual city current city council members because as a city, we have to continue going forward,” he said.

When asked about Williams’ conservative base, Mobolade said the work needed in Colorado Springs is “bigger than party politics.”

“I can't speak to Wayne's strategy,” Mobolade said. “I can speak to what I'm trying to do and the work ahead of us, the problems facing our community. The task is tall, but it's nothing we can’t solve with strong leadership and a leadership that transcends political party lines.”