2023 NACo second vice president platform - J.D. Clark

Fellow County Leaders,

My reason for running for NACo 2nd Vice President is simple: to connect and amplify our county voices as we tell our county stories and strengthen America’s counties.

It has never been more challenging to serve in county government, but it has also never been more important. As county officials, we know that our locally driven, results-based work is the most effective way to achieve real solutions in our communities, but we must work to share that message with our federal partners, private sector partners and constituents.

As your candidate for NACo 2nd VP, I am ready to do that work with you every day.

I am a husband, a father of three daughters, a former junior high and high school teacher, the former mayor of my hometown and now a three-term county judge.

I recently spent time at NACo’s D.C. headquarters completing the County Leadership Institute with county colleagues from across the nation. That experience re-emphasized what I have long believed about NACo: we have an incredibly deep, diverse bench of county officials, and if we connect and amplify those voices, we have a powerful vehicle to achieve our county priorities.

That spirit of collaboration and communication has been a hallmark of my service as an elected official and of my work with NACo.  I am proud and honored that our past NACo presidents have entrusted me with leadership and policy roles, and as a result, I have co-chaired the Broadband Task Force; twice chaired the Rural Action Caucus; twice chaired the Telecommunications and Technology Policy Steering Committee; chaired the Veterans and Military Services Committee; vice-chaired the Pensions, Finance, and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee; and served on the NACo Board of Directors on behalf of the Texas Association of Counties.

If given the opportunity to serve our great organization as 2nd VP, I am committed to continuing that work and focusing on the following:

-Fostering productive, effective partnerships and relationships with federal partners from across the partisan spectrum.  We do this by identifying, connecting and amplifying our diverse and talented county voices. While polarization at the federal level continues to grow, we know that we can’t let that stop us from getting real, important work done at home on the local level.  

Our membership is a source of great strength and effectiveness, and that is why we must harness those county voices from all areas of the nation and from all types of communities to carry our county stories to our partners at the federal level and build productive relationships.  

-Recruiting and retaining highly skilled personnel in a highly competitive job market.  We must remember that we are not just an organization but also an employer. The success of NACo relies not only on great member counties but also on the talents and skills of our professional staff.  We must work to be a premier employer in the public policy arena so that NACo remains a home for top-tier policy minds to serve America’s counties.

-Promoting the efficiency and effectiveness of county-level solutions.  The government closest to the people is the government that functions best, and we must be the voices advocating for county-level solutions to tackle issues and strengthen our communities.  

To tell these stories and show the effectiveness of county-level solutions, we must share our best practices and achievements to highlight the positive impact county government has made for our taxpayers and residents. We need our federal partners to see the value in equipping us with the resources required to tackle issues at the local level.

Whether it is PILT, broadband, mental health, ARPA flexibility, stormwater management, disaster recovery, transportation, public safety or the thousands of other issues county officials work on across America each day, we must amplify our voices to tell our county stories and shine the spotlight on what we are facing at home.  

We can use our voices and experiences to be thought leaders and drive the national conversation. NACo has done this so successfully with the Opioid Task Force and the Broadband Task Force, and I know we will do it again with the new Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission and the AI Exploratory Committee. I also know that new and different issues will develop that will require us as counties to rise to the challenge and seek innovative solutions together.

Connecting our county voices will make us heard, and we will achieve incredible results for our communities.

I am here to stand shoulder to shoulder with you to do the work. I am ready to be a convener and a connector to amplify our voices and tell our county stories.

My county — with a population of approximately 70,000 — is traditionally rural with rapid suburban growth. I have a county neighbor with population of over 2 million and a county neighbor with a population of less than 10,000. That reality has given me the experience, the ability, the energy, and the willingness to work on a diverse set of issues with counties of all sizes.

I am excited and encouraged by the support we have received already from diverse county officials from across the nation. Let’s work together as counties — rural, suburban, and urban — to connect our voices, tell our stories and achieve our county priorities.

I love NACo, I love county government and I would love to work with all of you to strengthen our American counties.

I ask for your vote, and I will work hard for this organization and for county government every step of the way.

Please reach out to me anytime at 940-389-0969 or jd.clark@co.wise.tx.us.