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

American politician The politics of the United States function within a framework of a constitutional federal republic and presidential system, with three distinct branches that share powers. These are: the U.S. Congress which forms the legislative branch, a bic ...

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 The Maryland Senate, sometimes referred to as the Maryland State Senate, is the upper house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. Composed of 47 senators elected from an equal number of constituent single- ...

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. and

Juanita Jackson Mitchell Juanita Elizabeth Jackson Mitchell (January 2, 1913 – July 7, 1992) was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and was the first African-American woman to practice law in Maryland. She was married to Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr., mother of two Maryland S ...

, he attended

Baltimore City Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

public schools and then

Gonzaga High School Gonzaga Regional High School is an educational establishment located in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The school began as a Jesuit sponsored all-boys school from grades 9 to 11. It is now a non-denominational coeducational ins ...

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 Morgan State University (Morgan State or MSU) is a public historically black research university in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the largest of Maryland's historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). In 1867, the university, then known ...

. 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, 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 Randallstown is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. It is named after Christopher and Thomas Randall, two 18th-century tavern-keepers. At that time, Randallstown was a tollgate cro ...

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