Newcombe Clark discusses reasons for running for Ann Arbor City Council
Newcombe Clark is running as an independent for the Ann Arbor City Council. He challenges incumbent Carsten Hohnke, D-5th Ward, on Nov. 2 along with Republican John Floyd. Here he poses in his office next to a poster showing his campaign mascot, "Democrobot."
Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com
Ann Arbor City Council candidate Newcombe Clark is the subject of an in-depth Q&A on A2Politico.com today, exploring his reasons for running as an independent in the 5th Ward.
In a post titled "The Politics of Nuking ‘Em: An Interview With Fifth Ward Council Candidate Newcombe Clark," Clark, vice president of markets for Jones Lange Lasalle, dishes on his reasons for challenging Democratic incumbent Carsten Hohnke. Hohnke has opposed two of Clark's development projects near downtown Ann Arbor: The Moravian and Heritage Row.
"To be blunt, I stopped having trust and confidence in Carsten’s ability to be an effective leader," Clark writes in one of his answers. "Yes in part because of the way he voted (or didn’t show) on my projects, but more so with how he choose to message against those votes."
In response another question, Clark reveals he was living on welfare until age 16. He also answers the hard-hitting question: "Do you prefer blue or black sweater vests?"
Clark and Hohnke will face off on Nov. 2, along with Republican John Floyd, an accountant. Click here to read AnnArbor.com's past coverage of the 5th Ward race.
Ryan J. Stanton covers government and politics for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529.
Comments
dogpaddle
Sat, Oct 23, 2010 : 11:46 a.m.
If you read the link to the in depth Q&A/interview on Clark, he claims that Carsten traded cops for Mack Pool. He is obviously misinformed. Carsten and other leaders spent over two years meeting with the Mack Pool users group to come up with viable solutions to funding Mack and keeping it open. The Mack users group managed to find roughly 50% of the money needed including raising fees for the users. In other words, you play, you pay. While I appreciate Clark's concern about politics being "business as usual", because I know how well Carsten was willing to work directly with the citizenry and listen and hear us, I'm sticking with him. He's a known quantity and as far I'm concerned, a good one. I'm sure Clark would also be a decent leader, but his running just seems like a personal attack on someone who didn't make a decision he wanted.
Dr. I. Emsayin
Sat, Oct 23, 2010 : 9:24 a.m.
Every Ann Arbor voter should read the entire interview. Newcombe Clark actually has the intelligence and background to speak clearly to the issues. Most of us who vote do it on one issue or another and the candidates say "yes" to something like the skatepark to get a little traction. Newcombe Clark understands finances and the decisions that will be made anyway when funds are not available. Read the interview and see if you can respond intelligently rather than picking on Newcombe's mother.
townie
Fri, Oct 22, 2010 : 6:08 p.m.
"Hohnke continues to oppose the version of the plan for that area that he himself had said was the best available option." The best of the only two very lousy options presented by Clark and his partners. There's no reason the City needs to settle for either one. One is a false blackmail proposition and both violated master plans and zoning. It's over, let's move on to other topics...
Charley Sullivan
Fri, Oct 22, 2010 : 3:39 p.m.
Amen on Laurie, your mother. She remains one of the very best teachers of anything I have dealt with in my life; much less on how one's body works, on many many levels. Shameless plug: annarborschoolofyoga.com. (I have no financial interest, just want more students going there.) And by the way, once you get to India, you probably spend so much less on living that you could easily make your monthly check go farther. When I go to Southeast Asia annually, I spend significantly less money per day, eating quite well, than I do in a week here.
Newcombe Clark
Fri, Oct 22, 2010 : 2:24 p.m.
Not really my place to chime in here but I want to do some protecting of my mother. Our travels to India were my mother's yearly sabbatical for yoga. A requirement of her high ranking. When I started going in the mid 80's it was out of necessity. Me, being 5, and my mother, being single, and us as two person family with not much money...we didn't have much choice in the matter on bringing me on the trips. I'm glad she did, both from the worldly perspective it gave me and because she figured out a way to raise me under difficult circumstances yet without giving up on her professional ambitions and life goals. We were a hard working family that only took any aid when necessary and only until we had accomplished enough not to need the help. To this day she inspires me with her dedication to her craft and her devotion to her students and this community.
rusty shackelford
Fri, Oct 22, 2010 : 1:45 p.m.
What about spite in continuing to oppose the best alternative project, for literally no other reason? Hohnke continues to oppose the version of the plan for that area that he himself had said was the best available option.
xmo
Fri, Oct 22, 2010 : 1:43 p.m.
From the Q&A section, this is confusing: "that included both nine trips to India with his yoga-teacher mother before age 14, poverty, and Food Stamps until age 16." How can you have the money to go to India and still be on food stamps?
ordmad
Fri, Oct 22, 2010 : 1:31 p.m.
"To be blunt, I stopped having trust and confidence in Carstens ability to be an effective leader," Clark writes in one of his answers. "Yes in part because of the way he voted (or didnt show) on my projects, but more so with how he choose to message against those votes." Or, put another way, he didn't support my huge PUD that dwarfed the surrounding neighborhood and would have made me big bucks so I'm running against him. None for me thanks: spite is not what I want motivating the person I'm voting for. d