Mary Pat Clarke, Baltimore City Councilwoman (episode 9)

Female Trouble

Mary Pat Clarke represents Baltimore’s 14th district in the City Council, which includes about 46,000 residents in neighborhoods including Homewood, part of Charles Village, Coldstream-Homestead-Montebello, Waverly and half of Hampden. At a time when women were a minority in city politics, Mary Pat became the first woman elected president of the Baltimore City Council in 1987; she discussed how the council hasn't advanced much in terms of representation from women. Mary Pat spent nine years away from city politics after mounting an unsuccessful bid for the mayor’s seat in 1995, returning to teaching, but after Baltimore residents voted for single-member council districts, she ran for office once again in 2004 and has represented the 14th district since. In April, Mary Pat introduced a bill to raise the city’s minimum wage to $15 an hour. Last week, that bill failed to pass by the necessary votes, and it will be sent back to committee. Mary Pat, who will face Republican Thomas Boyce in November’s general election, talked about who inspired her to get into politics, feeling like an outsider, the challenges of her job and finding a home in Baltimore.