Dennis Milton ClarkDennis Milton Clark, vice chairman of the Hamilton County Democratic Party and a native of District 5, is running for the Chattanooga City Council.
Clark, a regular in local politics who has run for city council and state house previously, said he will run to fulfill a long-term duty to public service.
"From an early age it has been ingrained in me to be in public service," Clark, the 36-year-old founder and executive director of the Urban Policy Institute, said Friday.
"I was in the Chattanooga youth leadership program when I was younger and I met [now state Rep.] Yusuf Hakeem," Clark said. "In that program we went to city council, I noticed the chair of city council was an African American man and it really got me thinking, 'hey, I could do that.'"
Then, while campaigning for his state House run, Clark's brother was killed, shifting his focus back to a safer, better Chattanooga.
"I didn't want to run again because losing is painful sometimes, especially if you have stuff you want to change about your community," he said. "I've always run with a call to action where something pissed me off. And that's what I'm doing now."
"And hey, Abraham Lincoln ran eight times. And thank God he did."
His brother's death made Clark assess the changes that he said need to be made in communities and education to prevent similar fates for young people, especially young Black men.
"That changed my whole ideology on public policy," he said. "He had some issues growing up, the school system failed him in so many ways and he made some poor choices."
"We have to do better."
If elected, Clark said he will focus on bringing power back to the people of District 5 and Chattanooga, especially in poor and minority communities.
"We have to do more to support the African American community here when it comes to poverty, economic justice and education, especially when it comes to African American males."
To start, he wants to make sure neighborhoods and programs that benefit them get fair treatment in the city budget.
"We're not getting our fair share as an African American community in a predominantly African American district," he said of District 5. "So my thing is to bring power to the people."
For Clark, that power will come from empowering families and empowering communities through education, homeownership and other means in order to create economic and social strength.
"We have to build communities that don't push out Black and brown communities," he said. "There's a way to improve neighborhoods and infrastructure without pushing people out."
Clark boasts endorsements and support from state Senate candidate and Assistant Chattanooga Police Chief Glenn Scruggs, Woodmore Neighborhood Association President Ezra Harris, Hamilton County Board of Education member Tiffany Robinson, former Chattanooga Councilman Pete Murphy, Bishop Kevin Adams of Olivet Baptist Church, and Pastor Marcellus Barnes of Grace Pointe Church.
Clark is running for a seat vacated by longtime Councilman Russell Gilbert, who is running for mayor of Chattanooga.
Contact Sarah Grace Taylor at staylor@timesfreepress.com.