Darrell L. Clarke | |
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President of the Philadelphia City Council | |
In office January 2, 2012 –January 1, 2024 | |
Preceded by | Anna Verna |
Succeeded by | Kenyatta Johnson |
Member of the Philadelphia City Council from the 5th district | |
In office May 18,1999 –January 1,2024 | |
Preceded by | John Street |
Succeeded by | Jeffery Young Jr. |
Personal details | |
Born | Philadelphia,Pennsylvania,U.S. | September 17,1952
Political party | Democratic |
Darrell L. Clarke (born September 17,1952)[ citation needed ] is an American politician who was a Democratic member of the Philadelphia City Council from 1999 to 2024,representing the 5th District. From 2012 to 2024,he served as president of the Council. [1] [2]
A native of North Philadelphia,Clarke grew up in the Strawberry Mansion neighborhood. He graduated from Edison High School. He later attended the Community College of Philadelphia but did not graduate. He now resides in the Fishtown neighborhood. [1] [3]
He was elected as a committeeman himself and became an aide to John Street, [1] who represented the Fifth District for nearly three decades and eventually became Council President.
In December 1998,Street resigned as a member of the City Council to run for mayor and endorsed Clarke for his seat in the 1999 special election held. [4] Clarke won by only 140 votes over Julie Welker and Dorothy Carn. Welker filed a lawsuit alleging election fraud. The case was decided in Clarke's favor. [5]
Clarke is a former Majority Whip and is the Chair of the Fiscal Stability and Public Property Committees and Vice Chairman of the Appropriations Committee. [1] He was elected to the position of Council President after the office was vacated by the retiring Anna Verna.
One of Clarke's legislative actions was his introduction of the bill to end the City-subsidized lease on the 80-year-old headquarters building of the Cradle of Liberty Council of the Boy Scouts of America over their ban on gay scouts. [6] After a protracted legal battle,the bill was overturned in Federal court and the City of Philadelphia was ordered to pay nearly a million dollars in legal fees to the Boy Scouts. [7]
In 2015,City Council President Darrell Clarke approved 1,330 private properties for the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) to seize through eminent domain. [8] [9] [10]
In 2019,the Inspector General stated that a Philadelphia developer backed by Council President Darrell Clarke 'took advantage' of flawed city processes for 'private gain.’ [11]
His father,Jerry,was involved in politics as a party committeeman. His mother,Ruth,was employed by the Veterans Administration.
Clarke has one daughter,Dr. Nicole Bright,and a grandson.
The Philadelphia City Council, the legislative body of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, consists of ten members elected by district and seven members elected at-large. The council president is elected by the members from among their number. Each member's term is four years, and there are no limits on the number of terms a member may serve.
John Franklin Street is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 97th Mayor of the City of Philadelphia. He was first elected to a term beginning on January 3, 2000, and was re-elected to a second term beginning in 2004. He is a Democrat and became mayor after having served 19 years in the Philadelphia City Council, including seven years as its president, before resigning as required under the Philadelphia City Charter in order to run for mayor. He followed Ed Rendell as mayor, assuming the post on January 3, 2000. Street was Philadelphia's second black mayor.
The Cradle of Liberty Council (#525) is a Boy Scouts of America council created in 1996 with the merger of the former Philadelphia Council and the former Valley Forge Council.
The Boy Scouts of America (BSA), one of the largest private youth organizations in the United States, has policies which prohibit those who are not willing to subscribe to the BSA's Declaration of Religious Principle, which has been interpreted by some as banning atheists, and, until January 2014, prohibited all "known or avowed homosexuals", from membership in its Scouting program. The ban on adults who are "open or avowed homosexuals" from leadership positions was lifted in July 2015.
Sharswood is a small neighborhood in the North Philadelphia section of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is located to the east of Brewerytown, north of Girard College, west of Ridge Avenue, east of 24th Street and south of Cecil B. Moore Avenue. It is often grouped with Brewerytown, as in the Brewerytown-Sharswood Community Civic Association, and the Brewerytown-Sharswood NTI Planning Area.
The Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) is a municipal authority providing Public housing services in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Cradle of Liberty Council, Inc., Boy Scouts of America, v. City of Philadelphia also known as Cradle of Liberty Council v. City of Philadelphia, [2:08-cv-02429RB] is a U.S. Court case involving the Cradle of Liberty Council versus the City of Philadelphia. The case was filed on May 23, 2008, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Judge Ronald L. Buckwalter presided over the case. The Boy Scouts were represented by Drinker Biddle & Reath. The case ended with the court ruling in favor of the Boy Scouts of America. The Cradle of Liberty Council Council is also entitled to collect $877,000 of legal costs from the city's unlawful action.
Kenyatta J. Johnson is a Democratic member of the Philadelphia City Council. He formerly served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the 186th District. He represents the 2nd District, which covers parts of Center City, South and Southwest Philadelphia, as well as the stadium area, Philadelphia International Airport, the Navy Yard and the Eastwick, Grays Ferry, Hawthorne and Point Breeze neighborhoods. Councilman Johnson was re-elected in the May 2015 primary election to represent the 2nd District for a second term.
Maria Quiñones-Sánchez is an American politician and political activist who served as a member of the Philadelphia City Council representing the 7th district. The district includes the neighborhoods of Castor Gardens, Fairhill, Feltonville, Frankford, Harrowgate, Hunting Park, Juniata, Kensington, Oxford Circle and Wissinoming. A registered Democrat, she served in this position from 2008 to 2022.
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Jose "J.P." Miranda is an American politician. He served as a Democratic party member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, from 2013 to 2014. Miranda previously worked on the staffs of Philadelphia City Council President Darrell Clarke and state Senator Shirley Kitchen.
Queen Lane Apartments opened in 1955 as one of several Post-War public housing hi-rise complexes in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania which were built and maintained by the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA). The PHA demolished the Queen Lane high-rise on September 13, 2014. The PHA replaced it with 55 new, affordable rental units for individuals and families. The first of the new 55 units were opened on December 15, 2015. Mayor Michael Nutter, City Council President Darrell L. Clarke, City Councilwoman Cindy Bass, PHA President/CEO Kelvin Jeremiah, residents of the nine new units, and other dignitaries joined together to cut the ribbon.
The 1957 Philadelphia municipal election, held on November 5, involved the election of the district attorney, city controller, and the remainder of a term for one city council seat, as well as several row offices and judgeships. Democrats were successful citywide, continuing a run of victories racked up after the passage of a new city charter in 1951 despite growing divisions between factions of the party. Victor H. Blanc, the incumbent district attorney, led the Democratic ticket to victory. They held the city council seat and took two citywide offices that Republicans had won in 1953. In the judges' elections, most were endorsed by both parties but in the one race that pitted a Democratic candidate against a Republican, the Democrats were successful in seating their candidate, former Congressman Earl Chudoff.
Marshall Lorenzo Shepard, Sr. was an American Christian clergyman and politician. Affiliated with the Democratic Party, his political career was focused in the city of Philadelphia.
Thomas McIntosh was a Democratic politician from Philadelphia who served as a member of the Philadelphia City Council for three terms, from his initial election in 1959 until his defeat in 1972. Born and raised in North Philadelphia, he attended Temple University and Lincoln University before being drafted to the military during World War II. He became involved in politics, and became a committeeman in the 29th ward. When Raymond Pace Alexander retired from the 5th municipal district, McIntosh was selected to replace him.
The 2023 Philadelphia mayoral election was held on November 7, 2023 to elect the mayor of Philadelphia. Nominees for the Democratic and Republican parties were selected through primaries on May 16, 2023.
The 2022 Philadelphia City Council special elections are planned special elections in 2022. The reason for the special elections is at least five resignations from the Philadelphia City Council.
The 2023 Philadelphia City Council elections was held November 7, 2023 for elections of all seats in the Philadelphia City Council. The Democratic Party maintained its super-majority on the council. The election took place on the same day as the 2023 Philadelphia mayoral election and other local elections in the Commonwealth.
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