Nigerian immigrant with no political experience elected first Black mayor of Colorado Springs

Nigerian immigrant and businessman Yemi Mobolade has been elected as the first Black mayor of Colorado Springs after defeating Republican Wayne Williams in a runoff election on Tuesday.

Mobolade, an independent with zero political experience, will succeed Mayor John Suthers, who is also the former attorney general of the state of Colorado. Mobolade ran against 11 other candidates in the April 4 election but the election entered a run-off after none of the candidates won 50 percent of the votes.

KRCC reports that the mayoral election is nonpartisan, but Colorado Springs — Colorado’s second-largest city — is widely established as conservative and Republican. Mobolade will be the first non-Republican to hold the office since Colorado Springs began electing mayors. 

“This is our win. We are Colorado Springs. It’s a new day in our beloved city,” Mobolade said in a speech Tuesday night after his victory. “Colorado Springs will become an inclusive, culturally rich, economically prosperous safe and vibrant city on a hill that shines brightly,” he said.

Born in Nigeria, Mobolade moved to Colorado Springs in 2010 and co-founded two restaurants — The Wild Goose Meeting House and Good Neighbors Meeting House. A married man with three children who started a career in quality control manufacturing, Mobolade is well known in the business community in the city. Besides setting up the restaurants, he was also the vice president of business retention and expansion for the Colorado Springs Chamber and Economic Development Corporation.

Mobolade campaigned on housing and infrastructure, crime and safety, and police reform. The political newcomer told KRCC that his number one priority after swearing-in is to ensure that “we are all on the same page with my vision and our vision, as well as establishing a good culture within city administration.”