Wayne Williams will be the next chief of staff for Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade, turning the two former election opponents into partners in city government.

The two officially announced the hire Thursday, citing Williams’ decades of experience with city, county and state government as skills he would bring to the administration. Williams will not officially start until April 20, but said he was already setting up meetings to hit the ground running.

In interviews on Wednesday, Mobolade and Williams pointed to some lofty company for their new partnership. One example was James Monroe and James Madison, the Founding Fathers who ran against each other in one of the earliest congressional races in Virginia. Another was Abraham Lincoln and the ‘”team of rivals” he built for his presidential Cabinet.

“This is the way that people still expect our society to be, which is that we may disagree on issues and candidates but ultimately, serving the people of the community is the important part,” Williams said.

In the 2023 city elections, Mobolade and Williams emerged from a field of 11 candidates for mayor as the top two vote-getters. The two spent six weeks campaigning and debating against each other in the runoff election Mobolade eventually won.

Mobolade’s previous chief of staff, Jamie Fabos, announced in January that she was leaving her city post. Fabos had worked under former Mayor John Suthers for years as the chief communications officer, and Mobolade said Fabos had been selected to build continuity into his administration.

Williams applied for the chief of staff job after the position was posted and stood out to Mobolade because of his extensive political background.

“We need more of that political savviness because of the times we’re living in. I need someone with Wayne’s types of experiences to help get things done for the city,” Mobolade said.

The two candidates came into the mayoral election with very different backgrounds. Williams spent two terms as an El Paso County commissioner before being elected as Colorado’s Secretary of State in 2014, as part of the last wave of Republicans winning statewide office. In 2019, Williams was elected to an at-large seat on the Colorado Springs City Council.

Mobolade, on the other hand, had not run for elected office before the 2023 mayoral campaign. At the time, Mobolade was best known as a ministry leader and an active small business owner with the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce.

While the election debates got heated, Williams said that he respected Mobolade throughout the process. He said they are both men of faith who agreed on some of the biggest public safety issues facing Colorado Springs. Williams congratulated Mobolade on the win in person at his election-night watch party, and the two appeared together in a June 2023 ad to make a joint call for unity.

“Wayne was right there, standing shoulder to shoulder with me, saying we have to come together for the community to get things done. That relationship continued after that commercial with him,” Mobolade said.

Soon after Mobolade was sworn in, Williams joined a group of unofficial advisers who gave the mayor feedback on his policies. Williams also led one of the city’s solutions teams on infrastructure.

Williams said he plans to be a public-facing member of the administration. Within the city government, Williams will serve as a liaison to the City Council and work with city department leaders on the 2027 budget. He also plans to meet with businesses and community groups to work on some of the city’s top priorities.

“I intend to be active. I don’t know how to do it any other way. Sitting in an office waiting is not my strong suit,” Williams said.

This is not the first time Mobolade has brought in a former campaign opponent to his staff. Sallie Clark, who came in third place in the 2023 general election vote for mayor, backed Mobolade during the runoff election and then worked in the Mayor’s Office of Community Affairs for two years. Williams said he also had a history of making friends with people he’s run against.

Earlier this week, Mobolade officially started his reelection campaign for a second term as mayor. Williams said he had decided in early 2025 not to run for mayor again, well before the chief of staff position opened.