By Rick Thomason, Staff Reporter
For someone who was reluctant to enter politics, Mike Clark is proud of his accomplishments, first on the Farmington Town Council and now in his first run for Congress, seeking the 5th District seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy.
He brings experience as an FBI agent, coupled with fiscal conservatism and a moderate stance on social issues.
“I’m hard-working, pragmatic, results-oriented and have demonstrated I can attract the independent vote,” Clark said in an interview. “I am the Republican that’s electable.”
Whether he will succeed in being elected to the 5th District seat, replacing Murphy, a Democrat who is seeking a U.S. Senate seat, remains to be seen. But his record in the local community is promising: He won his first election to the Farmington Town Council with 55 percent of the vote. He won his last with 65 percent of the vote.
Political Views
Clark believes Congress’ top priorities should be jobs and the country’s debt, in that order. He listed immigration and healthcare as his other top concerns.
“In my travels, I’ve seen where the jobs have gone,” Clark said. “It’s clear to me that the best way to bring them back and to create more jobs is to get government out of the way of private enterprise.”
He said the United States has the highest corporate income tax rate in the world and that the tax is inhibiting corporate investment, which in turn inhibits job growth. He called for the “repatriation” of U.S. businesses by bringing overseas corporate dollars back to the U.S. to invest at a significantly lower tax rate.
