Born inConnecticut, Clark worked as an attorney in several states before moving to Massachusetts in 1995, where she worked in state government. She joined the Melrose School Committee in 2002, becoming committee chair in 2005. She was first elected to the state legislature in 2008, and contributed to legislation regarding criminal justice, education, and municipal pensions. She won the2013 special election for theU.S. House of Representatives to succeedEd Markey in the5th district, and sits on theHouse Appropriations Committee.
In her early career, she worked as an attorney in Chicago. She then moved toColorado, where she worked as a clerk for JudgeAlfred A. Arraj of theUnited States District Court for the District of Colorado and later as a staff attorney for the Colorado District Attorneys' Council.[4] She moved to Massachusetts in 1995 and became general counsel for the state Office of Child Care Services.[5]
In 2001, Clark moved to Melrose, where she was elected to the Melrose School Committee, taking her seat in January 2002.[4] She first ran for theMassachusetts Senate in 2004 and lost to Republican incumbentRichard Tisei.[6][7] In January 2005, she was unanimously elected chairwoman of the Melrose School Committee.[8] In 2006, she ran for the32nd Middlesex seat in theMassachusetts House of Representatives when incumbentMike Festa began a run for Middlesex district attorney but withdrew after he dropped out of the race.[9]
Clark was appointed co-chair of Victory 2006, the state Democratic Party's campaign and fundraising effort for the2006 gubernatorial election.[10] She spent some time as chief of policy and government relations in theMassachusetts Attorney General's office.[11]
Festa resigned his state House seat in October 2007 to become secretary of elder affairs in theDeval Patrick administration, and Clark entered the special election to succeed him. During the campaign, she emphasized her experience as an attorney and made "developing stability in state aid" her top policy issue. She won the Democratic primary in January with 65% of the vote, defeating two other Melrose Democrats.[11][12] She defeated Republican real estate businessman Mark B. Hutchison, 63% to 37%.[13][14] In November 2008, she was reelected to a full term unopposed.[15]
Sworn in on March 13, 2008,[16] Clark represented Melrose andWakefield. She served on both the education, judiciary, and municipalities and the regional government committees.[17]
When Tisei resigned from the state senate to run forlieutenant governor of Massachusetts, Clark ran for his seat. In the Democratic primary, she defeatedStoneham attorney Michael S. Day, 64%–36%.[18][19] In the November 2010 general election, she defeated Republican Craig Spadafora, 52%–48%.[20]
Clark was sworn in on January 5, 2011.[21] She supports abortion rights and has been endorsed in her campaigns by NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts and the Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund.[22][23][24]
In 2011, Clark was co-chair of the Joint Committee on Public Service, where she was lead author of the Senate version of a bill to reform municipal pensions.[25][26] For her work in 2011, she received legislator of the year awards from the Massachusetts Municipal Association and theMassachusetts Police Association.[27][28] In 2012, she authored a law that takes steps to ensure that all Massachusetts students read at grade level by third grade.[29] Also in 2012, her bill extending restraining orders in domestic violence cases to cover victims' pets, which are often used as pawns in abusive relationships, was signed as part of a larger law on animal shelters.[30][31] In 2013, she co-sponsored a bill expanding the state'swiretapping authority, which was strictly limited under existing law, in order to help police better investigate violent street crime.[32] At the same time, she co-sponsored a bill to secure electronic privacy protections, requiring police to have probable cause before investigating the electronic records of individuals.[33] She filed another bill tighteningsex offender laws, imposing stricter penalties and making offender data more accessible to agencies and the public.[34][35] The Women's Bar Association of Massachusetts named Clark its 2013 Legislator of the Year for her service on women's issues.[36]
Clark's committee assignments in the state Senate were as follows:
Clark ran for a sixth term and defeated Republican Caroline Colarusso for a second time in the general election, this time winning 74% of the vote.[47]
Clark was unopposed in her bid for a full term in 2014.
In March 2015, Clark decided not to attend the speech by Israeli prime ministerBenjamin Netanyahu before ajoint session of Congress. She affirmed a commitment to maintaining and strengthening the relationship between the U.S. and Israel but noted that the invitation was offered without first consulting theObama administration.[62] In 2023, Clark voted to provide Israel with support following theHamas attack on Israel.[63][64]
Clark has introduced legislation in response to Internet harassment, most notably resulting from theGamergate controversy, and has advocated for more stringent enforcement of existing laws.[65] After introducing legislation that would criminalize "swatting" (falsely reporting an ongoing critical incident to dispatch an emergency response), she was herself targeted by a false report of an active shooter at her home.[66][67]
In January 2017, Clark announced a boycott ofDonald Trump's inauguration. She was part of a small group of House and Senate members who chose to boycott the ceremony. Her reason was her desire not to "normalize" Trump's promotion of "bigoted, misogynist, anti-Semitic, and racist claims."[68]
Clark votes with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time, according toFiveThirtyEight analysis completed in January 2023.[69]
On November 28, 2018, it was announced that Clark had defeatedCalifornia congressmanPete Aguilar to succeedLinda Sánchez as vice chair of the House Democratic Caucus.[70][71]
On November 18, 2020, it was announced that Clark had defeated Rhode Island congressmanDavid Cicilline by a vote of 135 to 92 to succeedBen Ray Luján as assistant speaker, the number four spot in Democratic house leadership.[72]
Clark with Secretary of StateAntony Blinken in July 2024
In 2021 Clark was mentioned as a possible candidate to succeed Pelosi as Speaker of the House.[73] But after Pelosi,Steny Hoyer, andJim Clyburn announced their retirement from party leadership in November 2022, Clark instead announced a bid for partywhip, the second-highest-ranking individual in the minority party.[74] After running unopposed, Clark was elected as the minority whip on November 30, 2022.[75][76]
Clark is married to Rodney S. Dowell, executive director for the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers, the state entity that regulates the legal profession inMassachusetts.[78] They live inRevere and have three children. In January 2023, Clark confirmed that her adult daughter was arrested for assault by means of a dangerous weapon and damage to property by graffiti/taggingBoston Common'sParkman Bandstand with the words "NO COP CITY" and "ACAB".[79][80][81] In May 2023, Riley Dowell was sentenced to one year of probation, and was ordered to write a letter of apology to the police officer.[82]
^Welch, William F.; James, Stephen F., eds. (2009)."Katherine M. Clark".Public Officers of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (2009–2010). Commonwealth of Massachusetts. p. 107.Archived from the original on October 16, 2013. RetrievedJuly 1, 2013.
^"About". State Senator Katherine Clark (official website).Archived from the original on September 27, 2013. RetrievedJune 29, 2013.
^abLaidler, John (February 8, 2004). "Tisei faces rare challenge".The Boston Globe.
^"Journal of the House"(PDF). Massachusetts House of Representatives. March 13, 2008. pp. 1154–1155.Archived(PDF) from the original on March 4, 2016. RetrievedJanuary 20, 2014.
^"Governor Patrick signs legislation to help close achievement gaps in reading and get all students to proficiency by Grade 3". Office of the Governor of Massachusetts (press release). September 26, 2012.
^"Pets and Domestic Violence". MSPCA-Angell (Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals-Angell Animal Medical Center).
^"Caucus Members".Congressional Progressive Caucus.Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. RetrievedMarch 29, 2021.
^"BBO names new chief bar counsel". Massachusetts Lawyer's Weekly (official website). March 6, 2020.Archived from the original on April 12, 2020. RetrievedMarch 9, 2020.
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