Yvette D. Clarke
Encyclopedia
Yvette Diane Clarke is the U.S. Representative
for , serving since 2007, and the Chair of the United States House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emerging Threats, Cybersecurity, Science and Technology since 2007 as well. She is a member of the Democratic Party
.
The district includes much of central Brooklyn
, including Brownsville
, Crown Heights
, East Flatbush
, Flatbush
, Kensington
, Midwood
, Prospect Heights
, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens
and Park Slope
. Clarke was formerly a member of the New York City Council
, representing the 40th council district in Brooklyn.
n immigrant parents, Clarke has lived all her life in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Flatbush. Upon graduating from Edward R. Murrow High School
, she earned a scholarship to Oberlin College
in Ohio
, where she completed most of her education, before transferring to Medgar Evers College
for her final semester. She is two classes short of fully completing her degree. According to her Congressional home page, she was also a recipient of the "prestigious APPAH/Sloan Fellowship in Public Policy and Policy Analysis".
Clarke worked as Director of Business Development for the Bronx
Overall Economic Development Corporation and was the second Director of the Bronx portion of the New York City Empowerment Zone.
As a member of the Council, she instituted an HIV
/AIDS
Task Force, a Sanitation Task Force, a Youth Task Force and organized an Ad Hoc Clergy Committee. She was chair of the Contracts Committee and was also co-chair of the Council's Women's Caucus. Clarke also served on the Education; Fire & Criminal Justice Services; Health; Land Use; Planning, Dispositions & Concessions; and, Rules, Privileges & Elections committees.
Clarke is an advocate for the empowerment of women and minorities and introduced legislation that resulted in the Council's Minority & Women-Owned Business Empowerment (MWBE) study that that found women and minority-owned businesses are not awarded their fair share of city contracts. This finding forced New York City to end its system of economic discrimination. As co-chair of the New York Council's Women's Caucus, Clarke secured $9.5 million in funding for organizations that addressed the issues of domestic violence prevention, breast cancer awareness, housing and HIV/AIDS counseling for women.
She cosponsored City Council resolutions that opposed the war in Iraq, criticized the federal USA PATRIOT Act
, and called for a national moratorium on the death penalty. She was a frequent critic of the Bush
administration's policies, and opposed budget cuts by Bush and the Republican Congress on several programs addressing women's rights and poverty.
In April, 2007, Clarke was the sole member of Congress to oppose a bill that renamed the Ellis Island Library after British-born Bob Hope.
On September 29, 2008, Clarke voted in support of HR 3997, the Emergency Economic Stability Act of 2008. The act failed, 205-228. There was also legislation written by Clarke to improve the process of getting names off the No Fly List
. It was passed 413-3 on February 3, 2009.
In November 2009 she was one of 54 members of Congress that sent a letter urging President Obama to use diplomatic pressure to resolve the blockade affecting Gaza. She has since retracted her support of the letter.
On March 25, 2010, Clarke introduced the "International Cybercrime Reporting and Cooperation Act - H.R.4962" (full text) before Congress
.
In 2000, Una Clarke ran in the Democratic primary against U.S. Congressman Major Owens, losing to the incumbent. In the 2004 election cycle, Yvette Clarke, with only two and a half years’ service as an elected official, ran for Owens' seat in the 2004 election cycle, narrowly losing.
, withdrew from the race to succeed Congressman Major Owens, leading some observers to contend that Clarke's chances for winning the race would improve now that another candidate from the same community was no longer competing.
On August 24, 2006, Clarke made a public disclosure revealing that her prior claims to have graduated from Oberlin College
were false. Her campaign website for the 2004 elections had made the statement that she was an alumna of Oberlin, a claim that was repeated in her campaign biography submitted for the Campaign Finance Board
Voter Guide the following year. Aides to Yvette Clarke maintained that she did in fact attend Oberlin, but completed her degree-bearing program at Medgar Evers College
in Brooklyn. Clarke further explained that, though she had recalled finishing her degree, school officials informed her that she remains "two classes short of the requirements" for her diploma. In the days following this revelation, it was disclosed that in 1996, the New York State Office of Higher Education — now known as the Higher Education Services Corp. — sought a court injunction forcing Clarke to begin to repay outstanding student loans, $4,268 was still in arrears
, according to state officials. The Campaign Finance Board requires that candidates running for office in New York City sign "sworn statements that the information in their profiles is true to the best of their knowledge." A spokesman for the Clarke campaign, Stefan Friedman, maintained that Clarke had "redeemed her loan from the Higher Educational Services Corporation in 1996," and that "she has consistently paid down those loans in accordance with an agreed-upon payment schedule."
On September 12, 2006, Clarke won the nomination to Congress with just 31.20% of the vote. (In multi-candidate congressional elections in New York, a plurality is sufficient to nominate.) In the general election on November 7, Clarke was elected to the House of Representatives with 89% of the vote against token Republican
opposition in an overwhelmingly Democratic district.
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 , serving since 2007, and the Chair of the United States House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emerging Threats, Cybersecurity, Science and Technology since 2007 as well. She is a member of the Democratic Party
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...
.
The district includes much of central Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, including Brownsville
Brownsville, Brooklyn
Brownsville is a residential neighborhood located in eastern Brooklyn, New York City.The total land area is one square mile, and the ZIP code for the neighborhood is 11212....
, Crown Heights
Crown Heights, Brooklyn
Crown Heights is a neighborhood in the central portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The main thoroughfare through this neighborhood is Eastern Parkway, a tree-lined boulevard designed by Frederick Law Olmsted extending two miles east-west.Originally, the area was known as Crow Hill....
, East Flatbush
East Flatbush, Brooklyn
East Flatbush is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The area is part of Brooklyn Community Board 17 Though the borders of East Flatbush are highly subjective, its northern border is roughly at Empire Boulevard and East New York Avenue east of East 91st Street, its southern...
, Flatbush
Flatbush, Brooklyn
Flatbush is a community of the Borough of Brooklyn, a part of New York City, consisting of several neighborhoods.The name Flatbush is an Anglicization of the Dutch language Vlacke bos ....
, Kensington
Kensington, Brooklyn
Kensington is a neighborhood in the center of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is the area south of Prospect Park and the Green-Wood Cemetery. It is bordered by Coney Island Avenue to the east, Fort Hamilton Parkway and Caton Avenue to the north, McDonald Avenue and 37th Street to the...
, Midwood
Midwood, Brooklyn
Midwood is a neighborhood in the south central part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, New York, USA, roughly halfway between Prospect Park and Coney Island. The neighborhood is within Community District 14...
, Prospect Heights
Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
Prospect Heights is a neighborhood in the northwest of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The traditional boundaries are Flatbush Avenue to the west, Atlantic Avenue to the north, Eastern Parkway to the south, and Washington Avenue to the east...
, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens
Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Brooklyn
Prospect Lefferts Gardens is a residential neighborhood in Flatbush in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The area is bounded by Empire Boulevard to the north, Clarkson Avenue to the south, New York Avenue to the east, and Ocean Avenue/Prospect Park to the west.Prospect Lefferts Gardens is...
and Park Slope
Park Slope, Brooklyn
Park Slope is a neighborhood in western Brooklyn, New York City's most populous borough. Park Slope is roughly bounded by Prospect Park West to the east, Fourth Avenue to the west, Flatbush Avenue to the north, and 15th Street to the south, though other definitions are sometimes offered. Generally...
. Clarke was formerly a member of the New York City Council
New York City Council
The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of the City of New York. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The Council serves as a check against the mayor in a "strong" mayor-council government model. The council monitors performance of city agencies and...
, representing the 40th council district in Brooklyn.
Early life, education and career
Born the child of JamaicaJamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n immigrant parents, Clarke has lived all her life in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Flatbush. Upon graduating from Edward R. Murrow High School
Edward R. Murrow High School
Edward R. Murrow High School, is located in the Midwood section of Brooklyn, New York City, New York and is part of the New York City Department of Education....
, she earned a scholarship to Oberlin College
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
in Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, where she completed most of her education, before transferring to Medgar Evers College
Medgar Evers College
Medgar Evers College is a senior college of The City University of New York.Medgar Evers College was officially established in 1970 through cooperation from educators and community leaders in central Brooklyn...
for her final semester. She is two classes short of fully completing her degree. According to her Congressional home page, she was also a recipient of the "prestigious APPAH/Sloan Fellowship in Public Policy and Policy Analysis".
Clarke worked as Director of Business Development for the Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
Overall Economic Development Corporation and was the second Director of the Bronx portion of the New York City Empowerment Zone.
New York City Council
Brooklyn's 40th council district elected Clarke to the New York City Council in 2001. She succeeded her mother, former City Council member Una S.T. Clarke, who held the seat for more than a decade.As a member of the Council, she instituted an HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
/AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
Task Force, a Sanitation Task Force, a Youth Task Force and organized an Ad Hoc Clergy Committee. She was chair of the Contracts Committee and was also co-chair of the Council's Women's Caucus. Clarke also served on the Education; Fire & Criminal Justice Services; Health; Land Use; Planning, Dispositions & Concessions; and, Rules, Privileges & Elections committees.
Clarke is an advocate for the empowerment of women and minorities and introduced legislation that resulted in the Council's Minority & Women-Owned Business Empowerment (MWBE) study that that found women and minority-owned businesses are not awarded their fair share of city contracts. This finding forced New York City to end its system of economic discrimination. As co-chair of the New York Council's Women's Caucus, Clarke secured $9.5 million in funding for organizations that addressed the issues of domestic violence prevention, breast cancer awareness, housing and HIV/AIDS counseling for women.
She cosponsored City Council resolutions that opposed the war in Iraq, criticized the federal USA PATRIOT Act
USA PATRIOT Act
The USA PATRIOT Act is an Act of the U.S. Congress that was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001...
, and called for a national moratorium on the death penalty. She was a frequent critic of the Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
administration's policies, and opposed budget cuts by Bush and the Republican Congress on several programs addressing women's rights and poverty.
Committee assignments
- Committee on Homeland SecurityUnited States House Committee on Homeland SecurityThe 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...
- Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies (Ranking Member)
- Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Management
- Committee on Small BusinessUnited States House Committee on Small BusinessThe United States House Committee on Small Business is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives.-History:On December 4, 1941, the U. S...
In April, 2007, Clarke was the sole member of Congress to oppose a bill that renamed the Ellis Island Library after British-born Bob Hope.
On September 29, 2008, Clarke voted in support of HR 3997, the Emergency Economic Stability Act of 2008. The act failed, 205-228. There was also legislation written by Clarke to improve the process of getting names off the No Fly List
No Fly List
The No Fly List is a list, created and maintained by the United States government's Terrorist Screening Center , of people who are not permitted to board a commercial aircraft for travel in or out of the United States. The list has also been used to divert away from U.S. airspace aircraft not...
. It was passed 413-3 on February 3, 2009.
In November 2009 she was one of 54 members of Congress that sent a letter urging President Obama to use diplomatic pressure to resolve the blockade affecting Gaza. She has since retracted her support of the letter.
On March 25, 2010, Clarke introduced the "International Cybercrime Reporting and Cooperation Act - H.R.4962" (full text) before Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
.
Political campaigns
2006
In May 2006, another Caribbean-American candidate, Assemblyman N. Nick PerryN. Nick Perry
Noah Nicholas "Nick" Perry is a Democratic member of the New York State Assembly. He currently represents District 58, which comprises East Flatbush, as well as portions of Canarsie and Brownsville, among other neighborhoods located in the borough of Brooklyn...
, withdrew from the race to succeed Congressman Major Owens, leading some observers to contend that Clarke's chances for winning the race would improve now that another candidate from the same community was no longer competing.
On August 24, 2006, Clarke made a public disclosure revealing that her prior claims to have graduated from Oberlin College
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
were false. Her campaign website for the 2004 elections had made the statement that she was an alumna of Oberlin, a claim that was repeated in her campaign biography submitted for the Campaign Finance Board
New York City Campaign Finance Board
The New York City Campaign Finance Board is an independent, nonpartisan agency of the City of New York. It was created in 1988 in the wake of several political corruption scandals. It gives public matching funds to qualifying candidates, who in exchange submit to strict contribution and spending...
Voter Guide the following year. Aides to Yvette Clarke maintained that she did in fact attend Oberlin, but completed her degree-bearing program at Medgar Evers College
Medgar Evers College
Medgar Evers College is a senior college of The City University of New York.Medgar Evers College was officially established in 1970 through cooperation from educators and community leaders in central Brooklyn...
in Brooklyn. Clarke further explained that, though she had recalled finishing her degree, school officials informed her that she remains "two classes short of the requirements" for her diploma. In the days following this revelation, it was disclosed that in 1996, the New York State Office of Higher Education — now known as the Higher Education Services Corp. — sought a court injunction forcing Clarke to begin to repay outstanding student loans, $4,268 was still in arrears
Arrears
Arrears is a legal term for the part of a debt that is overdue after missing one or more required payments. The amount of the arrears is the amount accrued from the date on which the first missed payment was due...
, according to state officials. The Campaign Finance Board requires that candidates running for office in New York City sign "sworn statements that the information in their profiles is true to the best of their knowledge." A spokesman for the Clarke campaign, Stefan Friedman, maintained that Clarke had "redeemed her loan from the Higher Educational Services Corporation in 1996," and that "she has consistently paid down those loans in accordance with an agreed-upon payment schedule."
On September 12, 2006, Clarke won the nomination to Congress with just 31.20% of the vote. (In multi-candidate congressional elections in New York, a plurality is sufficient to nominate.) In the general election on November 7, Clarke was elected to the House of Representatives with 89% of the vote against token Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
opposition in an overwhelmingly Democratic district.
2008
Clarke was re-elected on November 4, 2008 by a large margin.2010
Clarke was re-elected on November 2, 2010 by a large margin.External links
- U.S. Representative Yvette Clarke official U.S. House site
- Yvette Clarke for Congress official campaign site
- Profile at SourceWatchSourceWatchSourceWatch is an internet wiki site that is a collaborative project of the liberal Center for Media and Democracy...