Darrell L. Clarke (born September 17, 1952) is an American politician who was a Democratic member of the

Philadelphia City Council The Philadelphia City Council is the legislative body of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is composed of 17 councilmembers: ten members elected by district and seven members elected at-large from throughou ...

from 1999 to 2024, representing the 5th District. From 2012 to 2024, he served as president of the Council.

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, Philadelphia, Center City. Though the full extent of the region is somewhat vague, "North Philadelphia" is regarded as ...

, 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. The college was founded in 1965 and is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. It offers over 100 associate ...

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

Political career

He was elected as a committeeman himself and became an aide(and later chief of staff) 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 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 Scouting 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 Montg ...

of the

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

over their ban on gay scouts. After a protracted legal battle, the bill was overturned in Federal court and the

City of Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

was ordered to pay nearly a million dollars in legal fees to the Boy Scouts. 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 a Philadelphia developer backed by Council President Darrell Clarke 'took advantage' of flawed city processes for 'private gain.’ During his time on the City Council, Clarke blocked the construction of a 77-unit senior affordable housing development slated for 33rd and York Streets. Over the course of years, Clarke delayed the development and forced the developer to reduce the number of units to 57, scrap proposed duplexes for single-family townhomes, and force the developer to move the proposed housing to Diamond Street.

PA Liquor Control Board(PLCB)

Clarke was nominated to PLCB by Pennsylvania Governor

Josh Shapiro Joshua David Shapiro (born June 20, 1973) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the 48th governor of Pennsylvania since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was the attorney general of Pen ...

on Sep 1, 2023, and was confirmed by PA Senate on Feb 8, 2024. On Nov 22, 2024, Clarke is nominated as PLCB chairman by Gov Josh Shapiro, now pending PA Senate's approval.Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board(PLCB) website

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 lifelong healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers an ...

. 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 Pennsylvania politicians 20th-century African-American politicians 1952 births 20th-century Pennsylvania politicians