Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick

Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan's 13th district
In office January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2011
Preceded by	Lynn Rivers
Succeeded by	Hansen Clarke
Personal details
Born	Carolyn Jean Cheeks June 25, 1945 (1945-06-25) Detroit, Michigan
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Bernard Kilpatrick (divorced)
Children	Kwame Kilpatrick
Residence	Detroit
Alma mater	Ferris State University, Western Michigan University, University of Michigan
Occupation	high school teacher
Religion	Christian (AME denomination)

Carolyn Jean Cheeks Kilpatrick (born June 25, 1945) is an American politician who was U.S. Representative for Michigan's 13th congressional district from 1997 to 2011. (Prior to 2003, she represented the 15th district, which was substantially the same area.) She is a member of the Democratic Party. In August 2010 she lost the Democratic primary election. She was replaced by Hansen Clarke in January 2011.

The 13th district, which is entirely contained within Wayne County, runs along the Detroit River (which is also the Canadian border) from the northern county line to the southern line; it includes Grosse Pointe, half of Detroit, and portions of Downriver.

Early life, education and career

Born Carolyn Jean Cheeks in Detroit, Michigan, she graduated from the Detroit High School of Commerce. She then attended Ferris State University in Big Rapids from 1968 to 1970 and received a B.S. from Western Michigan University (Kalamazoo) in 1972. She earned a M.S. from the University of Michigan in 1977. She worked as a high school teacher and was later a member of the Michigan State House of Representatives from 1979 to 1996.

U.S. House of Representatives

Committee assignments

• Committee on Appropriations
  • Subcommittee on Defense
  • Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies

Caucus and other membership

• Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group
• Congressional Black Caucus
• Congressional Progressive Caucus

She was one of the 31 who voted in the House to not count the electoral votes from Ohio in the United States presidential election, 2004.

On December 6, 2006, the Congressional Black Caucus unanimously chose Kilpatrick as its chairwoman for the 110th Congress (2007-8).

On September 29, 2008, she voted against the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. [2]

Political campaigns

In 1996, Kilpatrick challenged three-term incumbent Barbara-Rose Collins in the 1996 Democratic primary for the 15th District. She defeated Collins by a shocking margin, taking 51.6 percent of the vote to Collins' 30.6 percent. This was tantamount to election in this heavily Democratic, black-majority district. She has been reelected six times, never dropping below 80 percent of the vote. She faced no major-party opposition in 2004 and was completely unopposed in 2006.

2008

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Michigan, 2008 #District 13

Her first serious opposition came during the 2008 primary, when she was challenged by both former State Representative Mary Waters and State Senator Martha Scott in the Democratic primary. Kilpatrick's campaign was plagued by the controversy surrounding her son and his involvement in a text messaging sex scandal. However, on the August 5 primary election, Kilpatrick narrowly won with 39.1 percent of the vote, compared to Waters' 36 percent and Scott's 24 percent.

2010

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Michigan, 2010 #District 13

In 2010, she was again challenged in the Democratic primary, but opposition coalesced around one main challenger before voting commenced; on August 3, 2010, Kilpatrick was defeated by State Senator Hansen Clarke. “This is the final curtain: the ending of the Kilpatrick dynasty,” said Detroit political consultant Eric Foster of Foster, McCollum, White and Assoc. NPR and CBS News both noted that throughout her re-election campaign, she was dogged by questions about her son, Kwame Kilpatrick, who is in prison on numerous corruption charges. Michigan Live reported that her election defeat could in part be attributed to the Kwame Kilpatrick scandals.

Personal life

Kilpatrick was married to Bernard Nathaniel Kilpatrick, with whom she has daughter Ayanna and son Kwame Kilpatrick, former Mayor of Detroit. She has six grandsons, including two sets of twins. Both her husband and son are currently awaiting trial, under an 89-page felony indictment.

She is a member of the Detroit Substance Abuse Advisory Council.

References

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• The Political Graveyard

External links

• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Congressional profile at GovTrack
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Michigan Democratic Party
• 13th Congressional District at Michigan Liberal

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Barbara-Rose Collins	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan's 15th congressional district 1997–2003	Succeeded by John Dingell, Jr.
Preceded by Lynn N. Rivers	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan's 13th congressional district 2003-2011	Succeeded by Hansen Clarke
Political offices
Preceded by Mel Watt	Chairperson of Congressional Black Caucus 2007–2009	Succeeded by Barbara Lee