hansen clarke

Peters tops Clarke in race for new "Greater Detroit" Congressional district

Sarah Cwiek — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 06:17:45 +0000

Unless something very unusual happens, the winner of Tuesday night’s 14^th district Democratic primary will easily win the November election.

And it appears that winner will be current Oakland County Congressman Gary Peters.

Peters topped a field of four Democrats, including another incumbent Congressman, to win the primary in the newly-redrawn 14th district.

That district zig-zags 75 miles across southeast Michigan, taking in much of Detroit and parts of Oakland County.

An interesting primary shapes up in Michigan's weirdest (-looking) Congressional district

Sarah Cwiek — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 03:08:26 +0000

One of the more interesting primary races coming up this week is in Metro Detroit’s 14^th Congressional district.

The race in that newly-redrawn district pits two incumbent Congressmen, Gary Peters and Hansen Clarke, against each other.

The 14th district used to cover most of Detroit’s west side and a few surrounding suburbs.

Now, it zig-zags across a big chunk of southeast Michigan—75 miles long, but only a half-mile wide in some parts.

Detroit Congressman wants to make "ban the box" federal law

Sarah Cwiek — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 00:44:49 +0000

Detroit Congressman Hansen Clarke has introduced a bill that supporters say would make it easier for ex-felons to get jobs.

The bill would prohibit employers from asking about a job applicants’ criminal record until they’ve made that person a conditional job offer.

So-called “ban the box” ordinances are already on the books in Detroit, other cities and a few states.

Commentary: Possibility of an upset

Jack Lessenberry — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 14:44:21 +0000

Congressional primary races are normally pretty boring, whenever an incumbent is on the ballot. Mostly they win almost automatically. The only exceptions tend to be cases when redistricting pits two incumbents against each other.

That’s what is going on this year in the half-Detroit, half-suburban 14th District, where Democratic Congressmen Hansen Clarke and Gary Peters are going at it.

But there’s another primary race this year that is just as dramatic – but which is happening mostly under the radar.

Detroit Congressman Clarke calls race allegations a "sickening" distraction; says he won't debate

Sarah Cwiek — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 14:17:20 +0000

Detroit Congressman Hansen Clarke says his political opponents are trying to smear him by raising questions about his racial heritage.

And on Tuesday, he made it clear he’s had enough.

Clarke is in a tough primary fight against three other Democrats in Michigan’s newly-redrawn 14th district.

Endorsements come down in heated Detroit Congressional primaries

Sarah Cwiek — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 14:06:50 +0000

An influential, Detroit-based Political Action Committee has made its endorsements for the August primary elections.

The Fannie Lou Hamer PAC is led by the Reverend Wendell Anthony, who also heads the Detroit branch of the NAACP.

Anthony decried the latest round of state and federal re-districting. He said it’s diluted Detroit’s voting power and caused “political havoc” in the city.

Commentary: Black Racism?

Jack Lessenberry — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 14:44:24 +0000

Several weeks ago, I was contacted by someone attempting to smear Congressman Hansen Clarke, who faces a tough primary race next month to try and keep his job.

The writer told me that he had uncovered the fact that the congressman’s father was from a different country and gave his son a different name, which he later changed. Well, not only had I known that, I had written about it.

Clarke has never made a secret of either that his father was from Pakistan. Nor was it a secret that the boy was named Molik Hashem, a name he later Anglicized.

Congressman Clarke says suspend foreclosures, keep homes occupied

Jennifer White, Mercedes Mejia and Zoe Clark — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 21:23:41 +0000

Although Michigan’s foreclosure activity declined in the first quarter of 2012, Michigan still has the 7^th highest foreclosure rate in the country.

Democratic Congressman Hansen Clarke represents Michigan’s 13^th district. This week he's in Washington D. C. and hopes to introduce a bill that would suspend home foreclosures nationally for up to three years.

Protesters take on emergency manager law as Detroit deadline approaches

Sarah Cwiek — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 21:33:06 +0000

A small crowd camped out inside the building that houses state offices in Detroit Friday.

The group was there to protest Michigan’s emergency manager law, Public Act 4—and the state’s plans to use it in Detroit.

The protest was small and peaceful, if loud, with prayers and song. Tempers did flare briefly when private security guards tried to force protesters to leave.

U.S. Rep. Clarke wants federal government help for Detroit

Mark Brush — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 19:05:35 +0000

U.S. Representative Hansen Clarke (D-Detroit) wants the state to hold off on plans to appoint a financial advisory board to oversee things in Detroit.

Clarke is quoted in the Detroit News saying "even though Detroit is in a financial crisis, this current financial board has the power and the focus to cut staff, outsource departments and sell assets. That's not the way you get out of a financial crisis."

From the Detroit News:

Clarke says he wants the federal government to provide relief similar to what was given to New York City in 1975 to keep it from going into bankruptcy.
Clarke, who says he's prepared to introduce legislation in Congress next week, says he understands it's a long shot, but said the idea is worth pursuing. Any legislation would have to be passed through the Republican-led House and Democratic-led Senate.

Former Michigan state representative Waters joins race for Congress

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:25:05 +0000

The race for Michigan's 14th Congressional District just got more crowded. The Detroit Free Press reports today that former state Rep. Mary Waters has thrown her hat in the ring, competing for a congressional seat representing the western half of Detroit.

Waters, a Democrat from Detroit, will be facing U.S. Reps. Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Township), Hansen Clarke (D-Detroit), and Southfield Mayor Brenda Lawrence for her party's nomination, the Free Press reports.

While Waters nearly won a congressional seat back in 2008, the Free Press writes, her recent record is a bit more rocky:

Waters’ fortunes faded when she pleaded guilty in 2010 to a misdemeanor count of filing a false tax return related to a bribery scandal involving her one-time boyfriend Sam Riddle. She tried to withdraw her plea, but the U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed the plea last year and Waters was sentenced to one year of probation.

Michigan Radio's Rick Pluta reported last year on a related story involving Waters and Sam Riddle:

Democrats seize on Romney Volt comment

Sarah Cwiek — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 00:04:52 +0000

Michigan native and GOP Presidential candidate Mitt Romney is drawing fire from Michigan Democrats for remarks he made on a radio program this week.

At the very end of a radio interview Romney called the Chevy Volt “an idea whose time has not come.”

There was little context for the remark, but Democrats seized on it. They say it’s part of a pattern of Romney “rooting for the US auto industry to fail.”

Detroit Congressman Clarke continues push for federal relief

Sarah Cwiek — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 23:02:45 +0000

Detroit Congressman Hansen Clarke says “time is of the essence” for his proposed Detroit Jobs Trust Fund Act.

That’s legislation Clarke has proposed that would divert federal taxes collected in Detroit into a trust--about $2 billion annually over five years. That money would then be used to finance jobs and infrastructure projects.

Hansen Clarke: Time to tackle student loan debt

Sarah Cwiek — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 13:51:25 +0000

Detroit Congressman Hansen Clarke says the growing “Occupy” movement is helping his efforts to push for student loan debt relief.

Clarke introduced a resolution in July encouraging Congress to focus on what he calls the country’s “true debt problem.” Student loan debt is expected to surpass $1 trillion this year.

Clarke says the issue is gaining traction in Congress as a way to lessen household debt and jumpstart the economy.

He says relief should focus on federally-guaranteed student loans.

“I also want to reduce and maybe eliminate much of the compounded interest and fees and penalties that borrowers have to pay on top of the principal that they borrowed. See, all these fees and everything, and the interest…that’s what really adds up," Clarke said.

Clarke calls President Obama’s proposals for student loan relief “a good start,” but says Congress also needs to act.

No one has introduced such comprehensive legislation yet.

Detroit Homeland Security agencies, first responders press for funds

Sarah Cwiek — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 21:23:30 +0000

Metro Detroit’s Homeland Security agencies say they’ve made progress on border security and disaster preparedness in the past 10 years. But they warn federal budget cuts and a new way of allocating Homeland Security grants could jeopardize that.

A U.S. House Homeland Security subcommittee held a hearing called “The State of Northern Border Preparedness: A Review of Federal, State and Local Coordination” at Wayne State University Friday.

Detroit Congressman Hansen Clarke sits on the committee.