Clarence Maurice Mitchell III (December 14, 1939 – October 11, 2012) was an American politician from

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

who served in the Maryland Senate and the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the legislature of the State of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House on State Circle in Annapolis, ...

Background

Mitchell was born in

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center o ...

, December 14, 1939. The son of

Clarence M. Mitchell Jr. Clarence Maurice Mitchell Jr. (March 8, 1911 – March 18, 1984) was an American civil rights activist and was the chief lobbyist for the NAACP for nearly 30 years. He also served as a regional director for the organization. Mitchell, nicknamed ...

and Juanita Jackson Mitchell, he attended Baltimore City public schools and then Gonzaga High School in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

After high school, Mitchell attended the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

and Morgan State University. He was a member of

Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never restricted membership on the basis of color, creed ...

fraternity.

Career

Mitchell first served in the

, Legislative District 4 (Baltimore City) from 1963 to 1967; he was elected at 22 and sworn in at 23 years old. After 4 years in the House, he ran for the Maryland Senate and won. During the next 20 years he represented Senate, Legislative Districts 10, 38 & 39, all in Baltimore City. 1967-86. During that time he was the Deputy majority leader, 1975–78, Majority whip, 1979, member of the Judicial Proceedings Committee, Co-chair of the Joint Committee on Federal Relations and Chairman of the Executive Nominations Committee. On the national level, Mitchell was also elected to serve as President of the

National Black Caucus of State Legislators The National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) is an American political organization composed of African Americans elected to state legislatures in the United States and its territories. Background NBCSL was founded in 1977 after a gro ...

, from 1979 to 1985.

Controversy

Mitchell pleaded no contest in 1964 to charges of failing to file income taxes. In 1983 he was charged with carrying a weapon onto an airplane. A year after leaving the Senate in 1986, Mitchell was convicted of attempting to obstruct a grand jury, committing wire fraud and attempting to tamper with a federal investigation in the

Wedtech scandal The Wedtech scandal was an American political scandal involving the award of government contracts. It was first brought to light in 1986. History The Wedtech Corporation was founded in the Bronx, New York by John Mariotta, and originally manufac ...

. He was sentenced to 54 months in prison, but was released after serving 18 months.

Personal life

Mitchell was married to Joyce Ellis. Their seven children include

Clarence Mitchell IV Clarence Maurice Mitchell IV (born May 16, 1962) is an American radio host and former politician who currently cohosts ''The C4 And Bryan Nehman Show'' on Baltimore radio station WBAL. Mitchell served in the Maryland House of Delegates from 1995 ...

, who served in the Maryland House of Delegates and the Maryland State Senate, and also hosted ''The C4 Show'' on WBAL radio. Mitchell died October 11, 2012, in Randallstown, Maryland.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Clarence M. III 1939 births 2012 deaths African-American state legislators in Maryland American people convicted of tax crimes Democratic Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates Democratic Party Maryland state senators Maryland politicians convicted of crimes People convicted of obstruction of justice Politicians convicted of mail and wire fraud Politicians from Baltimore Mitchell family of Maryland