OCALA, FL (352today.com) – Retired U.S. Air Force veteran Mark Clark is running for the open Ocala City Council district seat no. 3, which has been occupied for the past 13 years by Jay Musleh, who has announced he will not seek reelection later this summer. He will oppose TamBoura Jenkins in the Sept. 16 election.
One of the motivating factors for Clark’s entry into the race is that he knows a number of people that currently sit on council, including Mayor Ben Marciano.
“I got to know the mayor both professionally and as a neighbor,” said Clark. “My background is that I’ve always been in a position of service.”
Clark served 24 years, 6 months and 9 days in the U.S. Air Force active duty, and made the transition of working in industry, and also for the National Security Agency as a civilian employee. He retired several years ago, and 14 years ago, he made the decision to move to Ocala.
“We love it (Ocala), this place is the dream come true,” said Clark. “Florida was pulling us, our children live in Florida. They’re all over the state. I had been stationed in Florida as an Air Force officer for quite a few years.”
Clark and his wife discussed the possibility of his candidacy, and he decided to pursue the possibility of serving on city council.
“I know how to work with people, I know how to get things done and I know how to make a decision,” said Clark.
The candidate brings a great deal of professional and life experience that would stand him in good stead for the role and has the past experience of being responsible for budgets of more than a billion dollars with the federal government, Clark understands the importance of transparency and fiscal responsibility. Clark recognizes the area’s exponential growth will also come with its own series of challenges going forward.
“Let people know exactly where their money is going, make sure that they have a voice, and make them realize that decisions have to be made for the best of everybody not just for an individual,” said Clark. “The growth that we see, we get complaints one way or the other. Some people don’t want to see growth others want to see growth. What I want to see is that we manage the growth appropriately, so if there’s a piece of property there, in the city limits, and if someone has a piece of property, and it can be developed and support the community in some fashion, then I want to see that developed, I want to see growth. That brings in more revenue. A piece of property just sitting there doesn’t bring in a lot of revenue and it also doesn’t provide a service for the community.”
Clark would love to see the community embrace a sense of service, something he enjoys, and would love to see others derive that same type of enjoyment. He would like to see people take more interest in the community.
“Getting involved can be as simple as, there’s this election coming up in September, which is an off-standard time, just by voting, showing that you’re doing a service to your community,” said Clark. “That whole concept, it’s not just about yourself, it’s about everyone.”
It’s also important to Clark, having served in the military, to support the Ocala Police Department and Ocala Fire and Rescue, having been a part of the air force family for nearly a quarter of a century, understanding their commitment to service within the community, putting their life on the line to protect and serve and to make certain citizens are safe.
“That’s very important to me, the public service part of it,” said Clark.