A Snyderville Basin man who lacks name recognition locally and has no political background announced on Monday he is seeking the Republican nomination for president.
David Clark, a 68-year-old who lives on Old Ranch Road, could not even be considered a long shot at this point given he apparently has no following thus far, has not raised any money and acknowledges that he might not be included on the primary and caucus ballots in the early balloting states like Iowa and New Hampshire.
Clark has lived in the Park City area since the early 1990s and said his professional background was as a stockbroker and financial advisor on Wall Street. He now sells life insurance.
His campaign for the nomination was launched in early November. He said he has considered a campaign for more than five years. He hopes to receive national exposure soon. That would better position him for inclusion on the ballots in the states that hold primaries and caucuses early, he said.
“I have no interest in self-aggrandizement,” he said, adding, “I’ve got the ideas to solve the problems. The problem is all these people have no ideas.”
Clark’s platform is especially focused on financial matters and the federal debt. He said he would negotiate with congressional Republicans and Democrats to devise a blueprint to eliminate the debt.
“The enemy is us. It’s not the Germans, the Japanese” or the British in the Revolutionary way era, Clark said as he spoke about what he sees in the dangers of the debt.
He said the greatest day in U.S. history will be when the “debt clock in New York City starts to reverse itself,” a reference to a readout in Times Square that tracks the expanding U.S. debt.
Clark said he would request Congress craft a package to eliminate the debt. He envisions spending cuts, tax increases or a combination. He did not provide details, however. He said he would support the measures Congress crafts.
“If they put together a plan to pay off the national debt, I’m not going to veto anything,” Clark said.
In another financial matter, Clark predicts the euro zone will dissolve within 12 months. He called the zone a “Tower of Babel.”
Clark, in an e-mail to The Park Record announcing the campaign, said he is from New York City and he is an Army veteran. He said in the e-mail he will keep the Social Security system intact and revamp the health care system. He said he supports Israel and the National Rifle Association.
The e-mail also addresses the debt and economic issues.
“In the future, The United States will not be known by its capacity to borrow, but by the absence of its need. Our country will long remember our conviction and resolve and determination in paying our debt. We will be an example to the world . . . and to history,” he said in the e-mail.
Clark is the third person with ties to Park City who is seeking the Republican nomination. Mitt Romney once was a Park City homeowner and spent considerable time in the city during his time helming the 2002 Winter Olympics. The family of Jon Huntsman Jr., a former Utah governor, has long owned property in Park City.