Ignacio Mayor Clark Craig said he will not seek re-election this April.
He has served as Ignacio’s mayor since 2022. Before that, he served on the town of Ignacio’s planning commission and as president of the Ignacio Chamber of Commerce, according to a bio on the town’s website. He was also awarded citizen of the year at February’s Southwest Colorado Rocks ceremony in recognition of his leadership.
“The experience has been wonderful,” Craig said.
He said his tenure as mayor coincided with several major projects in Ignacio, including the construction of the first phase of the Rock Creek affordable housing development.
“Some of the greatest accomplishments, in my opinion, is really getting Ignacio recognized for the small, wonderful community that it is,” he said. “I think eight to 10 years ago, there were some people that might not have thought they ever wanted to come out to Ignacio, but it’s got so much to offer.”
Craig said his favorite thing about Ignacio is the vibrant mix of tribal, Hispanic and European cultures, lending to a diverse and exciting cultural atmosphere.
“You can’t go to the grocery store without meeting people from all walks of life and just having a conversation,” Craig said. “The culture and the people, I think, are the two absolute greatest things here.”
Craig also highlighted several of Ignacio’s community events, including live music at Foxfire Farms, the Jackalope Acres pumpkin patch, the Ignacio Green Chile Fest and Rock Creek.
He said Ignacio has an exciting future. He feels confident in Weylin Ryan, Ignacio’s new town manager. He is also excited to see what the community decides to do with the 6½ acres of land the town owns at the corner of Colorado highways 172 and 151.
“That land could be used for entertainment, it could be used for businesses, it could be used for new municipal or nonprofit buildings. It could be anything that the community wants,” Craig said. “It’s not very often that a community has the chance to revisit and to rethink what the core of their downtown is going to look like, and we have that opportunity. So I’m very excited about the future.”
Currently, Craig said there are two potential candidates who could fill his shoes – Ignacio Mayor Pro Tem Alison deKay and Ignacio resident Cheryl Hunter. The election for both mayor and the board seats will be held April 7, and the new mayor will be sworn in at the April 13 town board meeting.
“Things are in flux,” Craig said. “I’ll probably start the meeting as the mayor, and then we’ll immediately go into the swearing in of new elected officials, at which time whoever the town of Ignacio chooses to be the next mayor will then take the hot seat and take over the meeting, and I will exit gracefully stage left.”
Craig, a Republican, ran for Colorado House District 59 in November 2024 but was edged out by his Democratic opponent, former Durango School District board member Katie Stewart.
Clark said he plans to devote more time to managing the Meadowbrook Mobile Home Park with his wife, Sharon, and spending time with his family, including attending his middle daughter’s wedding in northern Colorado.
