It was recently announced that Wayne Williams would be Mayor Yemi Mobolade’s new Interim Chief of Staff. Many were surprised at the announcement, considering Williams and Mobolade were former opponents in the 2023 mayoral race.
A reader reached out and asked us to pull some threads on the matter based on some information he had. We filed multiple Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) requests.
The City of Colorado Springs Human Resources Department went to the trouble of advertising the Interim Chief of Staff position on the city website from April 2nd to April 9th. We wondered why they would advertise the position when our source told us that, prior to April 2nd, city department heads had been told that Williams was being given the job. We were unable to confirm our source’s information via CORAs. Mobolade waited until April 9th to publicly announce Williams as his right-hand man, though his staff members were informed internally on April 3rd that Williams would be selected.
Our CORA
We reviewed the back-and-forth emails and text messages from staff in the City of Colorado Springs Communications Department. It made sense to pursue that department’s correspondence, as they had scheduled the press conference announcement for the 9th and must have known what was happening in advance. Also, we requested the application documents for everyone who applied for the job, as well as rejection communications. The city refused to release the names and information of the other job candidates, as none had been chosen as a finalist…apparently, Williams was the only finalist in the running for the position.
Did we find anything mind-blowing in our investigations? Nope. But we were entertained.
Here are some CORA nuggets that our readers will find interesting:
- April 2nd: A letter from Williams to Mobolade was passed along in the CORA response. All errors in this letter are from Williams. April 2nd is the same day the chief of staff job posting went live.
Dear Hon. Mayor Yemi:
My wife Holly and I fell in love with Colorado Springs when visiting for a job interview with Sherman & Howard in 1992, which I accepted. A couple years after I arrived in the Springs, Bob Isaac asked me to serve on the Colorado Springs Housing Authority, and I later was reappointed by Mary Lou Makepeace.
As I became more involved in government and public policy issues, I left the larger firms to form my own law office in 1998. For the past quarter-century, the focuses of my practice have been government law, particularly in the elections and land use areas, and labor and employment law. My clients during this time have included both private entities and a number of governments, and I’ve represented them in state and federal court and before municipal, state, and federal meditations and hearings. I’ve handled matters from land-use hearings to trials and appeals.
I served in elected office for 20 years, including 12 years on the El Paso County Commission and the Colorado Springs City Council. I built consensus and collaborated, often helping my colleagues reach unanimous decisions on controversial issues. I served in a number of leadership roles, including seven years as Vice Chair of the State Transportation Advisory Committee, three terms as Chair of the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments, and Chair of two transportation authorities.
Throughout my four years on City Council, I led Colorado Springs Utilities, either as Chair or Vice Chair. We tackled complex issues including the closure of Drake and planning for new energy sources, acquiring new water rights, establishing a water buffer requirement to protect our city, and selecting a new CEO.
In eight years as Clerk and Recorder and Colorado’s 38th Secretary of State, my record of successfully managing significant fiscal and operational responsibilities, and executing strategic initiatives is well known, with The Washington Post calling Colorado “the safest state to cast a vote.” My innovative work received awards from the Colorado Nonprofit Association and the League of Women Voters. I’m also very proud of helping develop the employees who worked with me, with several going on to major areas of responsibility, including elected office, Colorado’s Deputy Treasurer, and El Paso County’s CFO.
As Secretary of State, I also oversaw our office’s legal and rule-making affairs, working with our internal attorneys as well as counsel from the Attorney General’s Office. We dealt with complex constitutional and legal issues, and I have the distinction of removing a rogue elector and being unanimously vindicated by the US Supreme Court. See Colorado Department of State v. Baca.
I left City Council three years ago, and that elected part of my life is behind me. While I have enjoyed representing a number of governmental and private clients in my private law practice and continue to volunteer in various civic roles, including with the City, I miss being engaged in full-time public service.
Nearly 40 years ago I was named a Harry S Truman Scholar, the nation’s top honor for students going into public service. As one of two attorneys nationwide selected last year for the Stevens Award for attorneys in public service my passion for service is still strong. That’s why I’m excited to apply to be your next Chief of Staff.
My combination of elite management experience and innovative and award-winning service as an elected official makes me uniquely qualified for this position. From the founding of the PPRTA to the removal of a rogue elector, I’ve demonstrated my ability to successfully innovate in the government setting. I would love to help you do that so that we can accomplish your vision and goals for our great city.
Very truly yours,
Wayne W. Williams
- April 3rd, 7:41 a.m.: Williams submitted his employment application to Human Resources. Click here to see the full 13-page application. The application outlines what Williams considers his personal achievements as a public servant. Of note, his employment references include Colorado Attorney General (Democrat) Phil Weiser and Doug Stimple, CEO of Classic Homes. Weiser is currently running for governor of Colorado. He’s sued the Trump administration so many times we’ve lost count.
- April 3rd, 9:56 a.m.: Chief Communications Officer Jason Strickland sent a memo to the 2 other staff members in his office detailing the announcement. It was titled “Communications Plan – Interim Chief of Staff Announcement – DRAFT – 20260403”. It said, “Mayor Yemi will appoint Wayne Williams as Interim Chief of Staff.” It appears that either the application was submitted as a mere formality, or the government makes decisions at the speed of light and had interviews and checked references in only 2 hours and 15 minutes. We’re thinking it’s the latter.
- April 3rd: The CORA provided data that an unnamed candidate submitted his or her application for the chief of staff job.
- April 3rd: Another unnamed candidate emailed the Senior Adviser to the Mayor, Thomas Thompson, asking for “the scoop” about the chief of staff job opening.
- April 6th: Deputy Communications Director Joe Hollman busied himself by emailing out-of-town media members to offer reporters “embargoed” interviews with Williams and Mobolade. An embargoed interview is one where a journalist is given news information and agrees not to publish it until an agreed-upon date. One email gave a peek to 9News in Denver, saying the announcement would “make some waves within Colorado politics because of who it is. I think it is a really unique storyline about bipartisan politics.”
- April 7th: Human Resources Staff started notifying the other applicants that their applications were not moving forward in the hiring process.
Our Take
Evidence suggests the city posted the job opening only as a matter of formality. The winner seems to have been picked before the race began. The city’s procedures manual says a job has to be posted for 5 days, so they posted it for 7 days, likely to give the appearance of being aboveboard. This reflects poorly on the city, as the other candidates had no chance and their time was wasted.
Nothing should strike fear in the hearts of Colorado Springs residents more than 2 formerly opposing candidates for the mayor’s office linking arms and controlling a big wad of taxpayer funds. Many of the issues in Colorado Springs indeed have nothing to do with political parties. Street maintenance, for example, should be handled the same way, regardless of political ideology. Still, the city is dealing with many serious issues, including illegal immigration, crime, transit, vagrancy, development, and taxpayer-funded “affordable” housing. Those very important issues are often viewed differently depending on political ideology. Instead of celebrating these 2 men linking arms, people should pause and wonder why the city administration is desperately trying to sprinkle fairy dust over this partnership.