Mark Headlee on ballot for Lamar City Council Ward III

Mark Headlee, Candidate for Ward III Lamar City Council

This is my platform for the upcoming November 2025 election for the position of Councilman for Ward Three, Lamar City Council:

I was born in Denver and have lived in Colorado my entire life, except for living in Guatemala City and Mexico City for a period of time when I was younger. My father was a Spanish teacher. My Puerto Rican mother raised me and my siblings with love and respect for our Latino culture and traditions. I am extremely proud of my Anglo/Puerto Rican heritage.

I’ve been a resident of Lamar and Ward Three since 1997. I was first employed as a police officer for the Lamar Police Department and served for eight years (current police chief Kevin Ridder and I were patrolmen together, and have maintained a good working relationship and friendship).

I served two enlistments in the US Air Force/Colorado Air National Guard/US Air Force Reserve for nine years. The first six years were fresh out of high school, and my second re-enlistment was right after the terrorist attacks of 9/11. I was deployed to Balad, Iraq in the summer of 2004 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

After leaving the police department, I attended Lamar Community College, earned my Associate’s Degree in Nursing (I also have a Bachelor’s Degree from Metropolitan State University in US History & Social Science). I am currently a Registered Nurse at Prowers Medical Center, employed there since 2005. I have also worked part-time at Arkansas Valley Regional Medical Center in La Junta, and Med-Trans (TransCare) Ambulance in Rocky Ford as a critical care transport nurse.

I have two wonderful daughters, Faith and Hope, both of whom graduated from Lamar High School & Lamar Community College. They now attend university and are on track to start medical school and veterinary school in the next few years. I honestly believe that their being raised in Lamar made them who they are and instilled a fair sense of “service to others”, both human and animal, and community involvement in both of them.

I am a registered Republican, but have voted independently for all my adult life. I base my political decisions on the merits of the candidates and their legislation, not on blind party loyalty. Yes, in the past I have voted for both Democrats, Republicans, and Independents when I have felt their platform and policies were in the best interests of my family, community, state, and country.

I am fiscally conservative. If I am expected to live within the budget of my earnings, credit, and savings, shouldn’t I expect my government to do the same? With that in mind, I would prioritize funding for public safety, infrastructure including affordable housing, and road improvements.

Other future projects I would like to see accomplished in our town would be a focus on the historical preservation and stabilization of Willow Creek Park and the revitalization of downtown Lamar, to restore its historic character and modernize it for future use, as has been done with a few buildings so far.

Since Lamar is truly a rural community, I believe our city and county leadership should focus on attracting more agricultural-based industry to the area. This should include a good balance of Ag manufacturing and distribution. Since we are centrally located on two major interstate commerce routes (Hwy 50/287), we have the potential to be a hub for such an industry. Prowers County is ranked 6th in all agricultural-producing counties in Colorado. We should be using that “bread basket” designation to its fullest advantage.

Lastly, my vision for Lamar would be to see it take on a more active role in promoting its rich history. For example, the centennial of the Fleagle Gang incident (1928) is a few years away, and I’m unaware of any concerted efforts to promote this event and its effects on criminal forensics worldwide. Lamar was also the epicenter of the Great Depression’s horrific “Dust Bowl” of the 1930s. It was one of the worst ecological disasters in our nation’s history, and its outcomes changed farming policy for generations afterward.

I would like to see Lamar/Prowers County promote a “National Museum of the Great Depression”. Historical tourism, both Highway 50/ Santa Fe Trail and National Park Service sites such as Camp Amache and Bent’s Old Fort, bring thousands of visitors to this area of the United States from all over the world. Such a museum would attract those history-minded visitors to our town and would have a positive lasting economic impact city-wide.

Does the fact that I’m a veteran, police officer, and nurse make me any more qualified a candidate than the others running for city council? No, it truly doesn’t. I’m positive all the candidates in this upcoming election have their own amazing strengths and visions to give to the citizens of Lamar.

But if anything, I hope it shows that I’m not hesitant to serve. It shows that I am constantly reminded of the sacrifices made by so many in the service of this country. And above all and despite the misgivings some may have about our city, state, or nation, I do call this town of Lamar, Colorado, proudly, MY HOME.

If you should have any questions, I will do my best to answer. And as always, thank you for taking the time to read this.

Mark Headlee