How Mountain View City Councilmember Chris Clark connects Tech and Local Government

Recorded at the NewDEAL Forum Ideas Summit in Atlanta, GA, this week’s episode features co-host Ryan Coonerty in conversation with former Mountain View City, CA Mayor-now-Councilmember Chris Clark. Clark describes how he balances working for tech companies by day and the interests of the Mountain View community by night. They talk about how lessons learned in tech can be applied to improve local governments, how Clark transitioned from his upbringing in rural Illinois to the Silicon Valley, and his journey from being Mountain View’s youngest elected official and mayor to now a longstanding councilmember. Ryan and Clark also discuss how Mountain View operates, their relationship with the major tech companies in the area, how big companies in small communities affect housing in that area, and the role of policymakers in maintaining healthy standards of living for constituents. Tune in to learn how Clark manages his daily duties and how he maintains efficacy in all spaces.

 

IN THIS EPISODE: 

• [00:00] Chris Clark describes his balancing act of working for both big tech and the people.

• [02:50] Exploring the broken telephone between tech companies and local governments.

• [04:19] Lessons learned from tech that could also work to improve local government.

• [06:37] Chris walks us through his journey from rural Illinois to the heart of Silicon Valley.

• [09:20] Evolving from Mountain View’s youngest mayor to an experienced councilmember.

• [11:25] Legacy building, and unpacking Mountain View City and its relationship with big tech.

• [14:18] How the presence of large companies affects housing, and the role of policymaking.

• [19:25] The way Chris balances his daily duties to be effective in all the roles he plays.

• [21:06] Assessing the next steps in his career.