Hansen Clarke
Encyclopedia
Hansen Hashim Clarke is the U.S. Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 for . Clarke, a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

, was a member of the Michigan House of Representatives from 1991 through 1992, and from 1999 through 2002. He then served in the Michigan Senate
Michigan Senate
The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. The Senate consists of 38 members, who are elected from constituencies having approximately 212,400 to 263,500 residents....

, representing the 1st District from January 1, 2003 to January 3, 2011. Clarke is also the first U.S. Congressman of Bangladeshi
Bangladeshi American
Bangladeshi Americans are Americans of Bangladeshi descent. The overwhelming majority of Bangladeshi Americans are Bengalis. Most of them have immigrated from Sylhet region with a long trading history. Bangladeshi immigrants arrived in the United States especially since the early 1990s to become...

 descent.

Early life, education, and early political career

Clarke was born in Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...

 to father
Father
A father, Pop, Dad, or Papa, is defined as a male parent of any type of offspring. The adjective "paternal" refers to father, parallel to "maternal" for mother...

 Mozaffar Ali Hashim, a Bangladeshi, and an African American mother, Thelma Clarke. He grew up in the city's lower east side. His father died when he was a child and his mother worked as a crossing guard
Crossing guard
A crossing guard , a school crossing patrol officer , school crossing supervisor or school road patrol is a traffic management specialist who is normally stationed on busy roadways to aid pedestrians...

 to support her family. Clarke attended Cass Technical High School
Cass Technical High School
The Cass Tech Technicians football team is a high school football program in Division 1 Public School League, representing the prestigious Cass Technical High School in Detroit, MI. Cass Tech High School has long been recognized nationwide for its extraordinary football program dating back to its...

, and was later admitted to a prestigious east-coast prep school, Governor Dummer Academy, to complete his high school.

Clarke attended Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...

, graduating with a degree in fine arts. While at the University, he became interested in public service & electoral politics. He was elected to the student seat on the Cornell University Board of Trustees and was selected for membership in the prestigious Quill and Dagger
Quill and Dagger
Quill and Dagger is a senior honor society at Cornell University. It is often recognized as one of the most prominent collegiate societies of its type, along with Skull and Bones of Yale University...

 society. He then earned a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center
Georgetown University Law Center
Georgetown University Law Center is the law school of Georgetown University, located in Washington, D.C.. Established in 1870, the Law Center offers J.D., LL.M., and S.J.D. degrees in law...

 in 1987. Clarke is also a member of Alpha Phi Alpha
Alpha Phi Alpha
Alpha Phi Alpha is the first Inter-Collegiate Black Greek Letter fraternity. It was founded on December 4, 1906 at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Its founders are known as the "Seven Jewels". Alpha Phi Alpha developed a model that was used by the many Black Greek Letter Organizations ...

 fraternity.

Clarke worked as chief of staff to U.S. Representative John Conyers
John Conyers
John Conyers, Jr. is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1965 . He is a member of the Democratic Party...

, and prior to that, on the County Executive
County executive
A county executive is the head of the executive branch of government in a county. This position is common in the United States.The executive may be an elected or an appointed position...

's staff of Wayne County
Wayne County, Michigan
-History:Wayne County was one of the first counties formed when the Northwest Territory was organized. It was named for the American general "Mad Anthony" Wayne. It originally encompassed the entire area of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, as well as small sections that are now part of northern...

, during the administration of Edward H. McNamara
Edward H. McNamara
Edward H. McNamara served as Wayne County, Michigan County Executive from 1987-2002, and also served as mayor of Livonia, Michigan, from 1970-1986, and as a member of Livonia City Council from 1962 to 1970. He is probably best known for overseeing the $1.6 billion expansion of Detroit Metropolitan...

.

Elections

Clarke was first elected to the Michigan House of Representatives in 1990 and served one term before being defeated in the Democratic primary in 1992 by Joe Young Jr. In 1998 and 2000, Clarke was re-elected to the Michigan House.

Hansen Clarke was then elected to the Michigan Senate in 2002, defeating incumbent Senator Ray Murphy. After an unsuccessful mayoral bid in 2005, Senator Clarke was re-elected to his seat in the Senate in 2006.

Tenure

Since his re-election, Senator Clarke has made it his mission to cut auto insurance rates by 20%. In addition to introducing legislation, Senator Clarke has toured the state promoting insurance reform.

2010 election

In pursuing a seat in Congress during the 2010 election, Clarke noted that he lives debt-free
Debt
A debt is an obligation owed by one party to a second party, the creditor; usually this refers to assets granted by the creditor to the debtor, but the term can also be used metaphorically to cover moral obligations and other interactions not based on economic value.A debt is created when a...

 after following advice from anti-debt financial planner Dave Ramsey
Dave Ramsey
David L. Ramsey III is an American financial author, radio host, television personality, and motivational speaker.Ramsey's syndicated radio program The Dave Ramsey Show is promoted with a tagline that "It's about your life and your money," and it is heard on over 450 radio stations throughout the...

 and that he is committed to attacking deficit spending
Deficit spending
Deficit spending is the amount by which a government, private company, or individual's spending exceeds income over a particular period of time, also called simply "deficit," or "budget deficit," the opposite of budget surplus....

 without raising taxes
Taxation in the United States
The United States is a federal republic with autonomous state and local governments. Taxes are imposed in the United States at each of these levels. These include taxes on income, property, sales, imports, payroll, estates and gifts, as well as various fees.Taxes are imposed on net income of...

. Clarke defeated seven-term incumbent U.S. Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick
Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick
Carolyn Jean Cheeks Kilpatrick is an American politician who was U.S. Representative for from 1997 to 2011. She is a member of the Democratic Party. In August 2010 she lost the Democratic primary election...

 in the Democratic primary for Michigan's 13th District in Aug. 3, 2010. In the general election, Clarke easily defeated Republican John Hauler, and became the third American of South Asian descent elected to Congress.

Committee assignments

  • Committee on Homeland Security
    United States House Committee on Homeland Security
    The U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives, the lower house of Congress. Its responsibilities include U.S...

  • Committee on Science, Space and Technology

Electoral history

  • 2010 election for U.S. House - District 13 (General Election)
{| class="wikitable"

|-
! Name
! Percent
|-
| Clarke, Hansen (D)
|   79.40%
|-
|Hauler, John (R)
|   18.46%
|-
| Corsetti, George (G)
|   0.81%
|-
| Montgomery, Duane (I)
|   0.69%
|-
| Peterson, Heidi (L)
|   0.64%
|-
| Casha, James (I)
|   ~0%
|}
  • 2010 election for U.S. House - District 13 (Democratic Primary)
{| class="wikitable"

|-
! Name
! Percent
|-
| Clarke, Hansen
|   47%
|-
| Cheeks Kilpatrick, Carolyn (i)
|   41%
|-
| Plummer, Glenn
|   4%
|-
| Broad, John
|   4%
|-
| Brown, Vincent
|   2%
|-
| Hume, Stephen
|   2%
|}
  • 2006 election for Michigan State Senate - Michigan 1st District

{| class="wikitable"

|-
! Name
! Percent
|-
| Hansen Clarke (D) (inc.)
|   95.5%
|-
| Cynthia Cassell (R)
|   4.5%
|}
  • 2006 election for Michigan State Senate - Michigan 1st District (Democratic primary)

{| class="wikitable"

|-
! Name
! Percent
|-
| Hansen Clarke (inc.)
|   66.0%
|-
| Lamar Lemmons, III
|   22.9%
|-
|Martha Waters
|  11.1%
|}
  • 2002 election for Michigan State Senate - Michigan 1st District

{| class="wikitable"

|-
! Name
! Percent
|-
| Hansen Clarke (D)
|   93.7%
|-
| Cynthia Cassell (R)
|   6.3%
|}
  • 2002 election for Michigan State Senate - Michigan 1st District (Democratic primary)

{| class="wikitable"

|-
! Name
! Percent
|-
| Hansen Clarke
|   48.1%
|-
| Raymond M. Murphy
|   33.1%
|-
|Ellen M. Logan
|  17.4%
|}

Personal life

Clarke is married to Choi Palms-Cohen. They met and married in a whirlwind romance of about three weeks in mid-2007, after meeting at the offices of the Institute of Continuing Legal Education (ICLE) in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...

 where she works.

Being raised a Muslim, Clarke converted to Catholicism to plan to work with local officials to end religious and racial profiling in Michigan.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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