Darrell L. Clarke (born September 17, 1952) is an American politician serving as president of the Philadelphia City Council since 2012. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, he has represented the fifth district since 1999, which encompasses North Central Philadelphia, Strawberry Mansion, Lower Hunting Park, Ludlow, Yorktown, West Poplar, Fairhill, Brewerytown, Francisville, Spring Garden, Fairmount, Logan Square, and parts of Northwood, Fishtown, Northern Liberties and Center City.

Early life and education

A native of

North Philadelphia North Philadelphia, nicknamed North Philly, is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is immediately north of Center City. Though the full extent of the region is somewhat vague, "North Philadelphia" is regarded as everything north of either ...

, Clarke grew up in the Strawberry Mansion neighborhood. He graduated from Edison High School. He later attended the

Community College of Philadelphia The Community College of Philadelphia (CCP) is a public community college with campuses throughout Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The college was founded in 1965 and is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. It offers over ...

but did not graduate. He now resides in the Fishtown neighborhood.

Political career

He was elected as a committeeman himself and became an aide to John Street, who represented the Fifth District for nearly three decades and eventually became Council President.

Election to city council

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. 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.

City council tenure

Clarke is a former

Majority Whip A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. This means ensuring that members of the party vote according to the party platform, rather than according to their own individual ideology ...

and is the Chair of the Fiscal Stability and Public Property Committees and Vice Chairman of the Appropriations Committee. 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 The Cradle of Liberty Council (#525) is a Boy Scouts of America council created in 1996 with the merger of the former Philadelphia Council (covering the city and county of Philadelphia) and the former Valley Forge Council (covering Delaware and ...

of the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded ...

over their ban on gay scouts. 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.

Controversy

In 2015, City Council President Darrell Clarke approved 1,330 private properties for the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) to seize through eminent domain. In 2019, the Inspector General stated that Philadelphia developer backed by Council President Darrell Clarke 'took advantage' of flawed city process for 'private gain'

Personal life

His father, Jerry, was involved in politics as a party committeeman. His mother, Ruth, was employed by the

Veterans Administration The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers a ...

. Clarke has one daughter, Dr. Nicole Bright, and a grandson.

References

External links

Councilman Darrell L. Clarke - 5th District
official city website {{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Darrell Living people Presidents of the Philadelphia City Council Philadelphia City Council members Pennsylvania Democrats African-American city council members in Pennsylvania 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century American politicians 20th-century African-American politicians 1952 births