Hansen Clarke

Hansen Clarke
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan's 13th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2011
Preceded by	Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick
Member of the Michigan Senate from the 1st district
In office January 1, 2003 – January 3, 2011
Preceded by	Ray Murphy
Succeeded by	Coleman Young II
Personal details
Born	Hansen Hashim Clarke March 2, 1957 (1957-03-02) Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Choi Palms-Cohen
Residence	Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Alma mater	Georgetown University Law Center (J.D.) Cornell University (B.F.A.)
Profession	Attorney
Religion	Roman Catholic

Hansen Hashim Clarke (born March 2, 1957) is the U.S. Representative for Michigan's 13th congressional district. Clarke, a Democrat, 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, representing the 1st District from January 1, 2003 to January 3, 2011. Clarke is also the first U.S. Congressman of Bangladeshi descent.

Early life, education, and early political career

Clarke was born in Detroit, Michigan to father 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 to support her family. Clarke attended Cass Technical High School, and was later admitted to a prestigious east-coast prep school, Governor Dummer Academy, to complete his high school.

Clarke attended Cornell University, 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 society. He then earned a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1987. Clarke is also a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.

Clarke worked as chief of staff to U.S. Representative John Conyers, and prior to that, on the County Executive's staff of Wayne County, during the administration of Edward H. McNamara.

Michigan legislature

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.

U.S. House of Representatives

2010 election

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

In pursuing a seat in Congress during the 2010 election, Clarke noted that he lives debt-free after following advice from anti-debt financial planner Dave Ramsey and that he is committed to attacking deficit spending without raising taxes. Clarke defeated seven-term incumbent U.S. Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick 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
• Committee on Science, Space and Technology

Electoral history

• 2010 election for U.S. House - District 13 (General Election)

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)

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

Name	Percent
Hansen Clarke (D) (inc.)	95.5%
Cynthia Cassell (R)	4.5%

• 2006 election for Michigan State Senate - Michigan 1st District (Democratic primary)

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

Name	Percent
Hansen Clarke (D)	93.7%
Cynthia Cassell (R)	6.3%

• 2002 election for Michigan State Senate - Michigan 1st District (Democratic primary)

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 where she works.

Clarke was raised a Muslim, but converted to Catholicism.

External links

• Congressman Hansen Clarke official U.S. House site
• Hansen Clarke for Congress official campaign site
• 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
• Congressional profile at OpenCongress
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• Current Bills Sponsored at StateSurge.com
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign contributions at the National Institute for Money in State Politics
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Hansen Clarke at MichiganVotes.org
  • Voting record: 1999-2000, 2001-2002, 2003-2006, 2007-2010
• Michigan Bureau of Elections - Hansen Clarke (State Senate) campaign finance reports and data
• Michigan Bureau of Elections - Hansen Clarke (State House) campaign finance reports and data
• Michigan Liberal - SD01
• Senator Clarke's speech on home foreclosures on YouTube

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan's 13th congressional district January 3, 2011 – present	Succeeded by Incumbent
United States order of precedence
Preceded by David Cicilline D-Rhode Island	United States Representatives by seniority 355th	Succeeded by Chip Cravaack R-Minnesota
Michigan Senate
Preceded by Ray Murphy	State Senator from Michigan's 1st District 2003 – 2011	Succeeded by Coleman Young II