Mary Pat Clarke (born June 22, 1941) is 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 ...

who represented the 14th district in the

Baltimore City Council The Baltimore City Council is the legislative branch that governs the City of Baltimore and its more than 600,000 citizens. It has 14 members elected by district and a president elected at-large; all serve four-year terms. The Council holds reg ...

. She served in

Baltimore 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 ...

, Maryland politics as both council president and council member for 24 out of the last 35 years as of 2010. She is the first woman ever elected president of the Baltimore City Council and until 2016 was the only non-incumbent to win a council seat since single-member districts were mandated by Baltimore voters through

Question P Question P was a Baltimore City referendum issue on the November 5, 2002, General Election ballot in which voters overwhelmingly approved reducing the size of the Baltimore City Council from 18 council members to 14 members, each to be elected by ...

in 2002. Additionally, Clarke unsuccessfully ran for mayor in 1995

Early life and education

Clarke was born in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

on June 22, 1941. She attended Immaculata College where she received an A.B. in 1963 and the a

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

in 1966.

Career

Clarke, by profession, is a teacher. She has instructed students at the Johns Hopkins University School of Professional Studies, the

Maryland Institute College of Art The Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) is a Private university, private art school, art and design college in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1826 as the Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts, making it one of t ...

and the

University of Maryland, Baltimore County The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) is a public research university in Baltimore County, Maryland. It has a fall 2022 enrollment of 13,991 students, 61 undergraduate majors, over 92 graduate programs (38 master, 25 doctoral, ...

. Clarke was a founding board member of the

Greater Homewood Community Corporation Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality * ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record * "Greater" (song), by MercyMe, 2014 *Greater Bank Greater Ban ...

and later president and executive director. She was instrumental in securing audio equipment for the first performance of Unchained Talent at the Lake Clifton Campus, and she was a funding board member of the non-profit Unchained Talent. Clarke announced in May 2019 that she would retire from the Baltimore City Council in December 2020. For the 2020 Democratic primary, Clarke endorsed

Odette Ramos Odette T. Ramos is the Baltimore City Councilmember for Baltimore's 14th District. Ramos founded Strategic Management Consulting, LLC to work on community building; one of her clients was Unchained Talent, a youth arts organization. She has se ...

to succeed her as the council member for the 14th district.

Politics

In the council

Currently, as a member of the Baltimore City Council, Clarke was the Chair of the Education Committee, vice-Chair of the Judiciary and Legislative Investigation Committee, a member of the Budget and Appropriations Committee and the Land Use and Transportation Committee (highways & franchises subcommittee). While running for office, Clarke pushed for integrated slates. She and her New Democratic Club forged alliances with Baltimore's black democratic clubs in the 1970s resulting in the election of several African Americans to the City Council, as well as her own. In the council, she forged alliances with her black colleagues, such as the one with

Kweisi Mfume Kweisi Mfume ( ; born Frizzell Gerald Gray; October 24, 1948) is an American politician who is the U.S. representative for Maryland's 7th congressional district, first serving from 1987 to 1996 and again since 2020. A member of the Democratic ...

resulting in a Baltimore City mandate for smaller class sizes in the 1980s.

2007 election

Personal life

References

External links

MaryPatClarke.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Mary Pat University of Baltimore alumni 1941 births Living people Baltimore City Council members Immaculata University alumni University of Pennsylvania alumni Johns Hopkins University faculty University of Maryland, Baltimore County faculty Politicians from Providence, Rhode Island Women city councillors in Maryland American women academics