Surrounded by friends, neighbors, and community supporters, Chas Uffelman kicked off his campaign for Clarksville City Council on February 1, 2026, with a launch party speech about building a city that works for working people. Read his full remarks below.
My name is Charles Uffelman and I’m here to recruit you!
Acknowledge the hardship of the weather the past week
Thank the elected officials, community leaders in the room.
Clarksville is growing like a weed and we are getting squeezed. We deserve better. We are fighting for a city we can afford, that works for working people.
I LOVE Clarksville, it’s where I chose to build my life. I worked two jobs to buy my home near downtown, but many working people today don’t have the same opportunity. As housing prices have skyrocketed even above inflation, working people are getting left behind. A housing study conducted last fall found that less than 3% of homes on the market fell within an affordable range. If young people, and working people have to work multiple jobs and still can’t purchase their first home, we are failing as a city.
We deserve homes nestled in good, connected neighborhoods. The way we have designed our city has made it harder to address traffic congestion, build new schools, and make real connections with our neighbors. We have to look ahead to tree lined streets we can walk down from our homes to a corner store or coffee shop and to neighborhood parks where kids and pets can play. This isn’t just a cozy design, it means a better life for working families. It’s simple: more time making friends and less time stuck in traffic.
And we need a thriving, family friendly downtown. We as a city have ignored downtown at our peril. Don’t get me wrong, we are lucky to have some great resources: Downtown commons, the Roxie, the Arena, some fantastic places to eat. But I know you see the businesses closing. We’ve had many come and go in the last year. One smart Clarksvillian likes to say “retail follows rooftops.” That’s especially true downtown. It has to be a neighborhood. It’s time we led a renaissance of the beating heart of our city and our riverfront. A strong heart makes for a strong town.
I’m a farm boy that grew up on Red’s baked potatoes and Johnny’s fried honey buns. [Don’t forget to bring cash!] I’m the son of a TVA union machinist and UT Extension worker, and a farmer. My first job in high school was weedeating as a landscaper in Clarksville’s neighborhoods and parks. I learned, as my grandfather often said, “there is dignity in work.” That SHOULD mean dignity for all working people.
People know me as a fighter. Whether it’s standing up for our public schools, challenging hate and divisiveness on our city council, or fighting for a living wage for our firefighters: working people have been the center of my fight. It’s those fights that reinforced the idea that if you work hard you deserve a home, a car, and enough time and money left over to raise a family. This is personal, I know there are parents in this room who want their kids to come back to start families here.
I came back home to Clarksville because I believe in this city and I can feel the momentum coursing through our streets. The growth we are seeing CAN lead us to greater progress. I can see it happening in real time in the new faces that join us in the pews at Madison St United Methodist Church and the volunteers at the warming shelter. It’s in the air at historic events like Clarksville Pride, at business openings, and at rallies and marches across our city. It’s our collective voice that moves us farther, faster.
I’ve been organizing people to use their voices for change for over a decade, and I’m running to amplify them. I’m running to be a governing partner with the everyday citizens who are building this city. City council has to be a place where the leading voices of our community, regardless of their wealth and proximity to power, are invited to co-lead us, not left out of critical decisions that affect us all. There is no city official too important to seek input from shift workers, neighborhood leaders, small business owners, or union officers.
I’ll make sure we tackle the housing crisis on all fronts. I’ll fight for our Housing Authority to have the resources and leadership it needs to ramp up the construction of more affordable units for working people, the elderly, and the unhoused all across our city. That includes innovating new forms of development so we aren’t isolating people struggling with poverty in one part of town. I’ll be a cheerleader for bringing more affordable housing to our downtown and riverfront, not a barrier to get our city’s heart beating again.
I’m going to have the back of our small business owners across the ward. It feels like we are on the cusp of greatness, but our city has to get out of the way and start playing on the team. This summer I worked with downtown business owners to pass free two hour parking. We have to keep the momentum up by bringing more residents, tourists, and businesses to the heart of our city.
We cannot continue to underfund salaries for city employees, including our firefighters. If you work day in and day out serving the people of Clarksville you should be able to afford to live in the city of Clarksville. As a third generation union member myself, I won’t forget where I came from or where we are headed.
One of the first times I addressed council as a citizen was in response to a soon to be retiring member’s blatant homophobia and racism. It wasn’t just bad policy and immoral, it was bad for business, and it embarrassed us. As your council member I promise to fight for dignity for everyone in this city, and I won’t embarrass you.
This stuff isn’t hard, it just takes a vision and all of us working together.
This isn’t about me and I can’t do this alone. I need your help. Follow this campaign on social media and engage with our posts. Talk to your friends about our campaign and the future of our city.
Donate if you can. It’s how we will reach every voter by showing up on their screens, in their mailbox, and at their door.
We are planning a tour across the ward of house parties. If you can open up your home to your neighbors so we can hear from them, let me know! We will bring the campaign to your street.
There’s an old saying among hog farmers. When hard times hit farmers would let their hogs run loose to root among the hedges for their own food as a last resort. “Root hog or die!” Well times are tough, democracy isn’t self service. It’s up to us.
I’m Charles Uffelman, you can call me Chas, I’m running for city council:
ROOT HOG OR DIE!
Acknowledge the hardship of the weather the past week
Thank the elected officials, community leaders in the room.
Clarksville is growing like a weed and we are getting squeezed. We deserve better. We are fighting for a city we can afford, that works for working people.
I LOVE Clarksville, it’s where I chose to build my life. I worked two jobs to buy my home near downtown, but many working people today don’t have the same opportunity. As housing prices have skyrocketed even above inflation, working people are getting left behind. A housing study conducted last fall found that less than 3% of homes on the market fell within an affordable range. If young people, and working people have to work multiple jobs and still can’t purchase their first home, we are failing as a city.
We deserve homes nestled in good, connected neighborhoods. The way we have designed our city has made it harder to address traffic congestion, build new schools, and make real connections with our neighbors. We have to look ahead to tree lined streets we can walk down from our homes to a corner store or coffee shop and to neighborhood parks where kids and pets can play. This isn’t just a cozy design, it means a better life for working families. It’s simple: more time making friends and less time stuck in traffic.
And we need a thriving, family friendly downtown. We as a city have ignored downtown at our peril. Don’t get me wrong, we are lucky to have some great resources: Downtown commons, the Roxie, the Arena, some fantastic places to eat. But I know you see the businesses closing. We’ve had many come and go in the last year. One smart Clarksvillian likes to say “retail follows rooftops.” That’s especially true downtown. It has to be a neighborhood. It’s time we led a renaissance of the beating heart of our city and our riverfront. A strong heart makes for a strong town.
I’m a farm boy that grew up on Red’s baked potatoes and Johnny’s fried honey buns. [Don’t forget to bring cash!] I’m the son of a TVA union machinist and UT Extension worker, and a farmer. My first job in high school was weedeating as a landscaper in Clarksville’s neighborhoods and parks. I learned, as my grandfather often said, “there is dignity in work.” That SHOULD mean dignity for all working people.
People know me as a fighter. Whether it’s standing up for our public schools, challenging hate and divisiveness on our city council, or fighting for a living wage for our firefighters: working people have been the center of my fight. It’s those fights that reinforced the idea that if you work hard you deserve a home, a car, and enough time and money left over to raise a family. This is personal, I know there are parents in this room who want their kids to come back to start families here.
I came back home to Clarksville because I believe in this city and I can feel the momentum coursing through our streets. The growth we are seeing CAN lead us to greater progress. I can see it happening in real time in the new faces that join us in the pews at Madison St United Methodist Church and the volunteers at the warming shelter. It’s in the air at historic events like Clarksville Pride, at business openings, and at rallies and marches across our city. It’s our collective voice that moves us farther, faster.
I’ve been organizing people to use their voices for change for over a decade, and I’m running to amplify them. I’m running to be a governing partner with the everyday citizens who are building this city. City council has to be a place where the leading voices of our community, regardless of their wealth and proximity to power, are invited to co-lead us, not left out of critical decisions that affect us all. There is no city official too important to seek input from shift workers, neighborhood leaders, small business owners, or union officers.
I’ll make sure we tackle the housing crisis on all fronts. I’ll fight for our Housing Authority to have the resources and leadership it needs to ramp up the construction of more affordable units for working people, the elderly, and the unhoused all across our city. That includes innovating new forms of development so we aren’t isolating people struggling with poverty in one part of town. I’ll be a cheerleader for bringing more affordable housing to our downtown and riverfront, not a barrier to get our city’s heart beating again.
I’m going to have the back of our small business owners across the ward. It feels like we are on the cusp of greatness, but our city has to get out of the way and start playing on the team. This summer I worked with downtown business owners to pass free two hour parking. We have to keep the momentum up by bringing more residents, tourists, and businesses to the heart of our city.
We cannot continue to underfund salaries for city employees, including our firefighters. If you work day in and day out serving the people of Clarksville you should be able to afford to live in the city of Clarksville. As a third generation union member myself, I won’t forget where I came from or where we are headed.
One of the first times I addressed council as a citizen was in response to a soon to be retiring member’s blatant homophobia and racism. It wasn’t just bad policy and immoral, it was bad for business, and it embarrassed us. As your council member I promise to fight for dignity for everyone in this city, and I won’t embarrass you.
This stuff isn’t hard, it just takes a vision and all of us working together.
This isn’t about me and I can’t do this alone. I need your help. Follow this campaign on social media and engage with our posts. Talk to your friends about our campaign and the future of our city.
Donate if you can. It’s how we will reach every voter by showing up on their screens, in their mailbox, and at their door.
We are planning a tour across the ward of house parties. If you can open up your home to your neighbors so we can hear from them, let me know! We will bring the campaign to your street.
There’s an old saying among hog farmers. When hard times hit farmers would let their hogs run loose to root among the hedges for their own food as a last resort. “Root hog or die!” Well times are tough, democracy isn’t self service. It’s up to us.
I’m Charles Uffelman, you can call me Chas, I’m running for city council:
ROOT HOG OR DIE!