Eric Clark | |
---|---|
34th Secretary of State of Mississippi | |
In office January 4, 1996 –January 10, 2008 | |
Governor | Kirk Fordice Ronnie Musgrove Haley Barbour |
Preceded by | Dick Molpus |
Succeeded by | Delbert Hosemann |
Member of the MississippiHouseofRepresentatives from the 79th district 80th (1980-1984) | |
In office January 1980 –January 16,1996 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Mize,Mississippi,U. S. | July 25,1951
Political party | Democratic |
Alma mater | Millsaps College (BA) University of Mississippi (MA) Mississippi State University (PhD) |
Eric Charles Clark (born July 25,1951) is an American politician and academic who served as the Secretary of State of Mississippi from 1996 to 2008.
Eric Charles Clark was born on July 25,1951,in Mize,Mississippi. Graduating from Taylorsville High School,he earned a Bachelor of Arts from Millsaps College,Master of Arts from the University of Mississippi,and PhD in history from Mississippi State University. [1] His father,John Clark,served in the Mississippi House of Representatives in the 1930s and 1940s. [2]
Clark began his career as a high school and community college teacher. He was a history instructor at Mississippi College from 1989 to 1995. He was a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives,representing Smith County districts,for four terms from 1980 to 1996. [3] [4] [5] [6] On January 3,1984,he challenged the leadership of Speaker Buddie Newman by moving for the adoption of a set of House rules which unbundled some of the powers of the speakership. His proposal failed,but gained the support of 25 other representatives,leading to the collective label of the "Gang of 26". Newman responded to the challenge to his authority by assigning the 26 insignificant committee responsibilities. [7]
In 1987,reformist legislators succeeded in curbing some of the powers of the speaker. Following Newman's replacement by Tim Ford in January 1988,Clark was made chairman of the House Rules Committee. [8]
In 1995 Clark ran for the office of Secretary of State of Mississippi. He narrowly defeated Amy Tuck in the Democratic primary runoff and faced Republican state senator Barbara Blanton in the general election. He campaigned on his legislative record in the House of Representatives and defeated her in the November 7 contest. [9] He was sworn in on January 4,1996. [10] He was re-elected in 1999 and 2003. He did not seek reelection in 2007 [11] and was succeeded in office by Republican Delbert Hosemann on January 10,2008. [12] [13] He served as the interim Speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives at the opening of its 2008 session on January 8 to swear in the legislators before allowing the body to elect its own leadership. [14]
In 2008 Clark was made executive director of the Mississippi Community College Board. [15] He retired in June 2015. [16]
David Ronald Musgrove is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 62nd governor of Mississippi from 2000 to 2004. A Democrat,he previously served as the 29th lieutenant governor of Mississippi from 1996 to 2000. He was the Democratic nominee in the 2008 special election for one of Mississippi's seats in the United States Senate,losing to incumbent Senator Roger Wicker. Musgrove is a principal at a public affairs consulting firm,Politics. In 2014,he became founding partner of a new law firm in Jackson,Mississippi,Musgrove/Smith Law. As of 2024,he is the most recent Democrat to hold the office of Governor of Mississippi.
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Richard Henderson Molpus Jr. is an American businessman and Democratic Party politician who served as Secretary of State of Mississippi from 1984 until 1996. He unsuccessfully ran for governor in 1995 against Republican incumbent Kirk Fordice. He later established a timberland management company. Throughout his public life he has pushed for reforms to support public education and promote racial reconciliation.
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