Baltimore’s first female council president was ‘a tireless champion’

Above: Clarke attends then-Councilman Brandon Scott’s swearing-in ceremony as City Council president.

Left: Clarke, pictured in 1991.

Mary Pat Clarke participates in the 1987 House of Ruth opening ceremony at the Montebello Rehabilitation Hospital campus. file photos

The first woman elected to serve as president of the Baltimore City Council, Mary Pat Clarke, died Sunday morning. She was 83.

Clarke, a Democrat, was elected to the council in 1975 from District 2, when the city had six districts with three council members each. She helped to pass measures that reduced school class sizes and protected tenants’ rights.

As a council member, Clarke was known for her responsiveness, along with an energetic campaigning and governing style.

In 1987, Clarke became City Council president. In that role, she spearheaded passage of a 1994 bill that was the first of its kind in the nation, mandating that city contractors pay workers a living wage set by the Board of Estimates.

During her 32 intermittent years on the council — which were spread over 45 years and ended in December 2020 — worker pay remained one of her priorities. She sponsored a minimum wage bill that ultimately was vetoed by then-Mayor Catherine Pugh in March 2017. Clarke also maintained progressive stances over the years on issues ranging from housing to the environment to gay rights.

Former Baltimore Mayor and Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley served on the City Council with Clarke from 1991 to 1995 and said Sunday that he last spoke to her a few weeks ago.

“Mary Pat Clarke was a tireless champion for progress. She believed deeply in [the] goodness of the people of Baltimore,” O’Malley wrote in a text message. “As Council President she was always leaning forward; she was always impatient for greater progress. And yet, when people in dire need called her office or approached her in public, she was totally patient, totally caring.”

Current City Council President-elect Zeke Cohen said on the social media platform X that Clarke was a “wonderful friend and mentor” who saw the best in him and helped him become the person and leader he is today.

“Mary Pat Clarke defined what it means to be a public servant in Baltimore,” Cohen wrote. “Her decades of selfless service to our city yielded incredible results for children, workers and families. She was an uncompromising moral voice.”

On social media Sunday, Mayor Brandon Scott called Clarke “Council President for Life.” In August, he unveiled the Council President Mary Pat Clarke Playground, formerly Lake Montebello Playground. in Northeast Baltimore.

Councilmember Odette Ramos said her introduction to city politics was volunteering for Clarke’s 1995 mayoral campaign, which she lost to Kurt Schmoke. Ramos remembered her friend and mentor as a master of the zoning code, talented doorknocker and former teacher who knew how to command a room despite a small stature.

“Mary Pat wasn’t going to mince words. She was very direct and always very clear about [what] she wanted for her constituents,” Ramos said. “She set the bar high for public service. Baltimore wouldn’t be where it is today without her.”

Barbara Mikulski served on the City Council with Clarke before winning election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1976. The former senator said in a statement Sunday that she and Clarke were part of “an early group of city reformers” and credited her for mentoring the next generation of leaders.

“A unique light has gone out in our city,” Mikulski said. “She was a Baltimore original and certainly one of Baltimore’s best.”

Have a news tip? Contact Matt Hubbard at [e-mail], 443-651-0101 or @mthubb on X.