Eric Clark (politician) explained

Eric Clark
Office:34th Secretary of State of Mississippi
Termstart:January 4, 1996
Termend:January 10, 2008
Predecessor:Dick Molpus
Successor:Delbert Hosemann
Governor:Kirk Fordice
Ronnie Musgrove
Haley Barbour
Birth Date:25 July 1951
Birth Place:Mize, Mississippi, U. S.
Party:Democratic
Alma Mater:Millsaps College (BA)
University of Mississippi (MA)
Mississippi State University (PhD)
Termstart1:January 1980
Termend1:January 16, 1996
District1:79th
Prior Term1:80th (1980-1984)
State House1:Mississippi

Eric Charles Clark (born July 25, 1951) is an American politician and academic who served as the Secretary of State of Mississippi from 1996 to 2008.

Early life and education

Eric Charles Clark was born on July 25, 1951, in Mize, Mississippi. Graduating from Taylorsville High School, he earned a Bachelor of Arts from Millsaps College, Master of Arts from the University of Mississippi, and PhD in history from Mississippi State University. His father, John Clark, served in the Mississippi House of Representatives in the 1930s and 1940s.

Career

Clark began his career as a high school and community college teacher. He was a history instructor at Mississippi College from 1989 to 1995. He was a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives, representing Smith County districts, for four terms from 1980 to 1996.[1] [2] [3] [4] On January 3, 1984, he challenged the leadership of Speaker Buddie Newman by moving for the adoption of a set of House rules which unbundled some of the powers of the speakership. His proposal failed, but gained the support of 25 other representatives, leading to the collective label of the "Gang of 26". Newman responded to the challenge to his authority by assigning the 26 insignificant committee responsibilities.

In 1987, reformist legislators succeeded in curbing some of the powers of the speaker. Following Newman's replacement by Tim Ford in January 1988, Clark was made chairman of the House Rules Committee.[5]

In 1995 Clark ran for the office of Secretary of State of Mississippi. He narrowly defeated Amy Tuck in the Democratic primary runoff and faced Republican state senator Barbara Blanton in the general election. He campaigned on his legislative record in the House of Representatives and defeated her in the November 7 contest.[6] He was sworn in on January 4, 1996.[7] He was re-elected in 1999 and 2003. He did not seek reelection in 2007[8] and was succeeded in office by Republican Delbert Hosemann on January 10, 2008.[9] [10] He served as the interim Speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives at the opening of its 2008 session on January 8 to swear in the legislators before allowing the body to elect its own leadership.

In 2008 Clark was made executive director of the Mississippi Community College Board.[11] He retired in June 2015.[12]

Works cited

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: SC 591 (As Adopted by Senate and House) - 2007 Regular Session. 2021-05-30. billstatus.ls.state.ms.us.
  2. Web site: house/1984-88 - House of Representatives (1948-2016). 2021-05-30. MS Digital Archives. en.
  3. Web site: house/1988-92 - House of Representatives (1948-2016). 2021-05-30. MS Digital Archives. en.
  4. Web site: house/1993-96 - House of Representatives (1948-2016). 2021-05-30. MS Digital Archives. en.
  5. News: Clark to lead Rules committee. The Scott County Times. 1. January 20, 1988.
  6. News: Ragland. Lee. Clark breezes into secretary of state's post. The Clarion-Ledger. 5A. November 8, 1995.
  7. News: Holland. Gina. State swears in seven Democrats to statewide offices. The Clarksdale Press Register. Associated Press. 5. January 5, 1996 .
  8. News: Wells. Valerie. Clark picked to lead 2-year schools. Hattiesburg American. 1A, 4A . January 19, 2008.
  9. News: Lane. Sherra H.. Scott. Omeria. A Weekly Summary Report For the Week Ending January 11, 2008. The Clarke County Tribune. 11. January 24, 2008.
  10. News: Byrd. Shelia. 7 statewide officials take oath of office. Hattiesburg American. 3A, 9A . January 11, 2008.
  11. News: Community college board exec Eric Clark to retire. Mississippi Business Journal. Associated Press. dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141014184340/http://msbusiness.com/blog/2014/09/21/community-college-board-exec-eric-clark-retire/ . October 14, 2014. September 21, 2014.
  12. News: Amy. Jeff. Juco director glad to come home : Mayfield to start work Dec. 1 at $278K a year. The Greenwood Commonwealth. 4A. September 20, 2015.