Emanuel Cleaver
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| Emanuel Cleaver II | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2005 |
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| Preceded by | Karen McCarthy |
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| Born | October 26, 1944   Waxahachie, Texas, USA |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Diane Cleaver |
| Alma mater | Prairie View A&M University, St. Paul School of Theology |
| Profession | minister |
| Religion | United Methodist |
The Reverend Emanuel Cleaver II (born October 26, 1944) is a United Methodist pastor and a Democratic politician from the state of Missouri. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in November 2004 to represent Missouri's 5th congressional district (map), which primarily consists of the Kansas City-Jackson County metro area. Cleaver took his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives at the start of the 109th Congress on January 4, 2005.
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[edit] Early life
Born in Waxahachie, Texas, Cleaver grew up in public housing in Wichita Falls, Texas. He graduated from Prairie View A&M University where he was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, the first intercollegiate Greek-letter organization established for African Americans. Cleaver moved to Kansas City, Missouri where he founded a branch of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and received a Master of Divinity degree from St. Paul School of Theology.
[edit] Political career
Cleaver served a city councilman in Kansas City from 1979 to 1991, and was the mayor of Kansas City, Missouri for two terms, from 1991 until 1999. He was the first African American mayor of that city. During the last days of his tenure as Mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, Reverend Cleaver agreed to an international visit to London, UK. On the invitation of UK NGO Operation Black Vote he assisted in campaigning for increased electoral participation in the elections for the Mayor of London and the London Assembly. His visit culminated in a keynote speech at Westminster City Hall alongside figures including Ken Livingstone, Simon Hughes and Lee Jasper.
For ten years, the 5th District had been represented in the U.S. House by Democrat Karen McCarthy, who announced in late 2003 that she would not be seeking another term. Despite having served in city government for 20 years, including eight years as mayor, Cleaver posted weak numbers in the primary and general elections. Cleaver defeated former Clinton Administration official Jamie Metzl in the Democratic primary by 60% to 40%. In the general election, Republican Jeanne Patterson used her own fortune to fund her candidacy, and made the race far more competitive than conventional wisdom would suggest for the 5th, which has long been reckoned as a very safe Democratic district. Patterson held Cleaver to only 55 percent of the vote; by comparison, McCarthy won 65 percent in 2002.
[edit] 2008 presidential campaign
Cleaverhas endorsed Hillary Clinton.[1] Cleaver has claimed that black Democratic superdelegates who support Hillary Clinton have been subjected to harassment, threatened with primary opponents and called “Uncle Tom.” He said they have been told, “You’re not black if you’re not supporting Barack Obama. … It is ugly.”[2] On March 30, 2008, he was interviewed on The Sunday Edition on CBC Radio and said he realized he was on the losing team: "Even though I don't expect the Kansas City Chiefs to beat the Indianapolis Colts, I cheer for the Kansas City Chiefs." He also explained his support for Trinity United Church of Christ and its former pastor, Jeremiah Wright.[3][4]
[edit] Committee Assignments
- Financial Services Committee
- Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit
- Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity
[edit] External links
- U.S. Congressman Emanuel Cleaver official site
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
- Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
- Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
- Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
- Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
- Profile at SourceWatch Congresspedia
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by Richard Berkley |
Mayor of Kansas City, Missouri 1991–1999 |
Succeeded by Kay Waldo Barnes |
| Preceded by Karen McCarthy |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri's 5th congressional district 2005–Present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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