A mayoral fracas

Greeley Mayor Ed Clark has found himself in hot water, but this time it's not for his efforts to reform city government.

ClarkCity of Greeley

Tuesday morning, Clark was served with a temporary restraining order resulting from a weekend altercation with a neighborhood youth. The former police officer had effectuated a citizen's arrest until cops arrived to serve a summons to the boy, 15, for driving a motorbike without a license.

Clark was elected mayor in 2007 in a highly contentious contest against then-incumbent Tom Selders, described to FTS by one Greeley insider as "more bland than melted vanilla pudding." A newcomer to elective politics, Clark has championed a limited-government agenda at city hall, suggesting citizens may benefit from a privatization of Greeley's public golf courses and theater complex.

Tim Stitt, who obtained the restraining order on behalf of his son, alleges the boy was targeted as the result of a previous incident where the youth yelled an expletive at Clark's wife at a local park.

The courts will ultimately decide if Clark's actions were justified. He currently serves as head of security at University Schools, where his old-school style of discipline has won over some parents, and rankled others. Recently Clark made headlines for pulling his firearm on unauthorized campus visitors who, he says, were driving straight at him. He was later cleared of any wrongdoing by school officials.

Clark has largely made good on his election promises to beef up police presence on city streets and reduce crime, securing funding for additional patrol officers. Selders, who actively opposed increased immigration law enforcement operations in the city, found his policy positions rejected at the ballot box.

Calls to Clark went unreturned by press time. Scooter McGee, host of 1310 KFKA radio's late-night talk show from 9-12 pm, tells Face The State the Mayor will be his on-air guest tonight. The talker says he won't press the Mayor on the issue, however.