Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade — the independent who won a culturally conservative city by running as a true centrist who refuses to be boxed into either party — joins the Chuck Toddcast to make the case that quality-of-life governance still beats partisanship when voters are actually given the chance to choose it. Mobolade, who adapted his governing principles from Abraham Lincoln, argues that there's a genuine and growing appetite for leadership that isn't red or blue — but warns that working for unity is incredibly hard and tiring work that few politicians want to do anymore. He walks through Colorado Springs' fight to retain Space Command after Trump and Biden moved the headquarters back and forth between Colorado Springs and Huntsville, Alabama, and explains why he ultimately chose not to sue over the relocation (the decision was within the president's purview, and burning that bridge would have cost the city more than it gained). Mobolade describes hiring his own mayoral opponent Wayne Williams after the campaign — a move he calls part of his "radical collaboration" approach — and argues that mayors don't have the luxury of partisan posturing because their job is fundamentally about producing deliverables for actual residents who want safer streets, better services, and a higher quality of life.

The conversation moves into the practical challenges facing every American mayor in 2026, with data centers emerging as the political pain point in nearly every community across the country. Mobolade describes calling an emergency meeting to develop a data center strategy for Colorado Springs, walks through the balanced-but-responsible-growth framework his team has settled on, and explains the tradeoffs honestly: residents are worried about quality-of-life impacts, but the tax revenue from data centers is exactly what cities need to fund essential services. Larger data centers in his city are now forced to pay impact fees to offset their costs, some are being placed on military bases for security purposes, and Mobolade is candid with residents that they cannot have the services they demand without the revenue base to pay for them. The conversation turns to Colorado Springs' housing shortage — the city has been named one of the best places for young people, but only if young people can actually afford to live there — and Mobolade discusses his work with HUD to expand supply, his belief that the country needs genuine innovation in finding cheaper ways to build, and his frustration with a Colorado political landscape that he says no longer has room for center-left and center-right voices the way it used to. His closing argument is the one that ties the whole episode together: the country needs more independent leadership, not because partisanship is bad in theory, but because the current version of it is incapable of delivering the basics that voters actually care about.

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Timeline:

(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)

00:00 Mayor Yemi Mobolade joins the Chuck ToddCast

01:30 The people care more about quality of life than partisanship

02:45 Adapted governing principles from Abraham Lincoln

03:45 Colorado Springs is culturally conservative, yet elected an independent

05:30 Ran as a true centrist, hard to box in his politics

06:45 There’s an appetite for leadership that isn’t red or blue

7:30 Trump & Biden moved space command back and forth from Co. Springs

08:45 The city fought hard to keep space command 

09:30 Worked with the mayor of Huntsville to ensure smooth transition

10:30 Why did you decide not to sue over relocation of space command?

11:15 The decision was within the president’s purview

12:30 The city is safer now than when he took office

13:45 A mayor’s job is to produce deliverables for the people

15:45 There’s a lack of competition of ideas in Colorado politics

16:45 Have a good relationship with the governor and statehouse

17:30 People get too stuck in their partisan lanes

18:00 Working for unity is incredibly hard and tiring

20:15 There used to be room for center-left and center-right in Colorado

21:15 Hired his mayoral opponent Wayne Williams

21:45 Wayne ran a more traditional campaign, Yemi ran on different leadership

23:00 The goal was radical collaboration and the community embraced it

23:45 Data centers are a political pain point of every local community

24:30 Called an emergency meeting to discuss data center strategy

25:15 The sweet spot of data center policy is balanced but responsible growth

26:00 Residents are worried data centers will lower their quality of life

27:30 Data centers being placed on military bases for security

29:30 Larger data centers are forced to pay a fee to offset impact

33:00 Data centers bring in much needed tax dollars

34:00 The city budget needs the revenue to provide essential services

34:30 Residents want services but no data centers… can’t have it both ways

36:30 Colorado Springs also struggling with a housing shortage

38:30 Working with HUD to try to increase housing supply

39:15 Colorado Springs named one of the best cities for young people

40:45 Need innovation in housing construction, find cheaper ways to build

42:30 The country needs more independent leadership