Clarence V. Ford, known as Clay Ford (September 24, 1938 – March 18, 2013), was an attorney and Republican politician from

Gulf Breeze Gulf Breeze is a city in Santa Rosa County, Florida. It is located between Downtown Pensacola and Pensacola Beach, and is part of the Pensacola Metropolitan Area. The population was 6,340 at the 2020 census, up from 5,763 at the 2010 census. ...

Santa Rosa County Santa Rosa County is a county located in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2020, the population was 188,000. The county seat is Milton, which lies in the geographic center of the county. Other major communities withi ...

near

Pensacola Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only city in Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Pensacola metropolitan area, which ha ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, who, from 2007 until his death, represented District 2 in the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...

. A native of Wynne in

Cross County Cross County is a rural Northeast Arkansas county in the Arkansas Delta. Created as Arkansas's 53rd county on November 15, 1862, Cross County contains four incorporated municipalities, including Wynne, the county seat and most populous city ...

in eastern

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

, Ford was married to Carol Ann Ford and had three children, David, Doug, and Clay, and seven grandchildren. He served in the

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

, the Army Reserve, and the

Arkansas National Guard The Arkansas National Guard (ARNG), commonly known as the Arkansas Guard, is a component of the Politics and government of Arkansas, Government of Arkansas and the National Guard of the United States. It is composed of Arkansas Army National Guar ...

from 1955 to 1988, having advanced through the ranks from

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

. He studied at the

United States Army War College The United States Army War College (USAWC) is a U.S. Army staff college in Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, with a Carlisle postal address, on the 500-acre (2 km2) campus of the historic Carlisle Barracks. It provides graduate-level instru ...

Carlisle Barracks Carlisle Barracks is a United States Army facility located in Pennsylvania, with a Carlisle post office address and with a portion in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The site of the U.S. Army War College, it is the nation's second-oldest active military ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

and the United States Air Force War College in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. In 1969, he received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in Finance from the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

at Fayetteville. In 1978, he obtained a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

University of Arkansas School of Law The University of Arkansas School of Law is the law school of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas, a State university system, state university. It has around 445 students enrolled in its Juris Doctor (J.D.) and Master of Law (LL.M ...

, also in Fayetteville. In 1986, Ford obtained a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

degree in

public administration Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...

from

Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania (Ship or SU) is a public university in the Shippensburg, Pennsylvania area. It is part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. Founded in 1871, it later became the first teachers' college ...

in Shippensburg,

. He was a member of the

Arkansas House of Representatives The Arkansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Arkansas. The House has 100 members elected from an equal number of constituencies across the state. Each distr ...

from 1975 to 1976. From 1977 to 1979, he was a member of the Special School District Board in Pulaski County in

Little Rock Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

, Arkansas. He was a delegate to the Arkansas Constitutional Convention held in Little Rock in 1978 and 1979. After moving to Florida, he served on the Gulf Breeze City Council from 1990 to 2007 and was president of the Florida League of Cities from 2004 to 2005. On February 27, 2007, he was elected to the Florida House to succeed Holly Benson, who had been appointed to head the Department of Business and Professional Regulation by then

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Charlie Crist Charles Joseph Crist Jr. ( ; born July 24, 1956) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 44th List of governors of Florida, governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011 and as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. represen ...

. Ford was re-elected to the Florida House in November 2008. From 2008 to 2009, he was the House Deputy Whip. He was a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

and a member of the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...

, the Arkansas Bar Association, and the

Florida Bar The Florida Bar is the integrated, or unified bar organization for the state of Florida. It is the third largest such bar in the United States.

. He was affiliated with the Gulf Breeze

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to a ...

and

Rotary International Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and p ...

. He was a lifetime member of the

National Rifle Association The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...

. He received endorsements from the NRA as well as the

Florida Chamber of Commerce The Florida Chamber of Commerce is an organization devoted to the advocacy of private businesses in the state of Florida. This Chamber originated in 1912, and included its first continuing group in 1916, the ''Florida Tick Eradication Committee''.h ...

and Florida

Right to Life The right to life is the belief that a human (or other animal) has the right to live and, in particular, should not be killed by another entity. The concept of a right to life arises in debates on issues including: capital punishment, with some ...

. Ford died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

in Florida at the age of seventy-four.

Will Weatherford Will Weatherford (born November 14, 1979) is an American politician who was a Republican member of the Florida House of Representatives from 2006 to 2014, representing the 61st District from 2006 to 2012 and the 38th District, which included east ...

, the

Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives The speaker is the Speaker (politics), presiding member of the Florida House of Representatives. The Speaker and his staff provide direction and coordination to employees throughout the House and serve the members in carrying out their constitut ...

, said of his death: "The consummate gentleman of the House, Clay Ford was a friend, a mentor, and a tender conscience to all those who served with him. Last night, Clay lost his brave fight with cancer. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife Carol, his three sons, David, Doug, and Clay, and his nine grandchildren."Rep Clay Ford dies
nj.com March 19, 2013 The Florida Legislature recognized Representative Clay Ford by naming the Minority Scholarship for accounting students the Clay Ford Scholarship Program in the 2013 legislative session.

References

Florida House of Representatives ProfileVotesmart page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Clay 1938 births 2013 deaths Methodists from Florida People from Wynne, Arkansas Politicians from Little Rock, Arkansas People from Gulf Breeze, Florida University of Arkansas alumni University of Arkansas School of Law alumni Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania alumni Arkansas Democrats Members of the Arkansas House of Representatives School board members in Arkansas Florida city council members Republican Party members of the Florida House of Representatives Arkansas lawyers Florida lawyers United States Army officers United States Army War College alumni Deaths from cancer in Florida Lawyers from Little Rock, Arkansas Methodists from Arkansas 21st-century members of the Florida Legislature