Brenda Clack is an African-American politician from the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

. She is a Democrat and was until 2009 a member of the Michigan State House of Representatives

Michigan State House of Representatives

The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2000 federal U.S. Census.Members are elected in...

. She represented the 34th House District ( map), which is located in Genesee County

Genesee County, Michigan

-Interstates:* I-69* I-75* I-475-Michigan State Trunklines:* M-13* M-15* M-21* M-54* M-57-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 436,141 people, 169,825 households, and 115,990 families residing in the county. The population density was 682 people per square mile . There were 183,630...

, and includes much of the city of Flint

Flint, Michigan

Flint is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit. The U.S. Census Bureau reports the 2010 population to be placed at 102,434, making Flint the seventh largest city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Genesee County which lies in the...

. She chaired the Families and Children's Services Committee.

Early life

Clack graduated from Tennessee State University

Tennessee State University

Tennessee State University is a land-grant university located in Nashville, Tennessee. TSU is the only state-funded historically black university in Tennessee.-History:...

 in 1969, receiving her Bachelor of Science degree in education. She graduated from Eastern Michigan University

Eastern Michigan University

Eastern Michigan University is a comprehensive, co-educational public university located in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Ypsilanti is west of Detroit and eight miles east of Ann Arbor. The university was founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School...

. She worked as a teacher in the Flint Area public school system for several years. She was chosen as Michigan’s economics teacher of the year in 1995. She is married to former State Representative Floyd Clack

Floyd Clack

Floyd Clack is a Michigan educator and politician who currently serves as a member of the Eastern Michigan University board of regents. Among other offices he has served as a member of the Michigan House of Representatives....

, and they have two children.

Political career

Clack was elected to the State House in 2002. She represented the 34th district, which includes much of the city of Flint and is overwhelmingly Democratic. She never faced a serious challenge for re-election. Term limits prevented her from running for re-election in 2008. She sat on the Education, Families and Children's Services, Health Policy, and the New Economy and Quality of Life Committees.

In 2008, Clack ran for and won election the First District Genesee County Board of Commissioners.

Finished in second place in the 2009 Flint Mayoral primary. With 16.22 percent of the vote, she edged out Darryl E. Buchanan by 14 votes. On August 4, 2009, Clack looses the special general mayoral election against Dayne Walling

Dayne Walling

-Public and Business Life:Walling was a founder and president of the Flint Club.-Political career:In 2007, Walling ran against Don Williamson in the mayoral race losing to Williamson...

.

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