Mary Pat Clarke, former City Council member, remembered as fighter for social justice

Mary Pat Clarke, a former Baltimore City Council member who made history when she became the first woman elected council president in 1987, is being remembered by social justice advocates as a staunch promoter of inclusionary housing, racial justice and policies that support worker rights.

Clarke, who had been an active parishioner of St. Ignatius in Baltimore with her late husband, Joe Clarke, from the 1990s until the coronavirus pandemic, died Nov. 10. She was 83.

“She was a great supporter of the laborer,” said Maureen Daly, co-chair of both Beyond the Boundaries, a nonprofit in support of inclusive housing policies, and Maryland Catholic Labor Network, a nonprofit with church and labor organizations. “She was an ally for all kinds of things with social justice.”

Clarke recognized that “people just getting a foothold were more likely to be renters,” Daly said, and fought for their rights. In October 2023, Mayor Brandon Scott signed the Mary Pat Clarke Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Bll, which gives renters the first opportunity to purchase the home they have been renting if the landlord decides to sell. 

“She was small, but very vocal, in a good sense,” said Jesuit Father William Watters, former longtime pastor of St. Ignatius. “She met people easily and was a very warm person.”

The Clarkes, he said, were supportive of the church’s ministry to the poor, as well as of St. Ignatius Loyola Academy, which at that time was adjacent to the church (the academy moved to its current location in Federal Hill in 2014).

“They were movers and shakers in the city of Baltimore,” Father Watters said. 

Clarke, born in Rhode Island, was first elected to the city council in 1975 for the District 2 seat. At that time, the city had six districts with three representatives each. Today, there are 14 districts with one representative each. In 2004, Clarke was elected to the District 14 seat, which she held until her retirement in 2020. In all, she served 32 years.

During a failed bid for mayor in 1995, Clarke outlined her priorities in an interview with the Catholic Review. She advocated for policies that encouraged employment for the homeless and called for the creation of 100 new residential drug treatment slots in the city that would include the uninsured. 

The mother of four was strongly opposed to the legalization of casino gambling, saying it would “undermine the efforts of our neighborhoods, businesses and families to develop long-term service and retail jobs.” She also noted that it would “destroy the family-friendly atmosphere which draws parents and children to visit our city.”

Over the years, Clarke supported a variety of city laws that promoted health, including a controversial 2007 measure that outlawed smoking in public places such as church bingo halls, bars, restaurants, bowling alleys and taxicabs.

“This bill does impose regrettable hardships, especially on bars and restaurants near the Baltimore County line,” Clarke said, according to the Catholic Review’s coverage of the vote. “But if we don’t lead, will the state follow?”

Clarke sometimes was at odds with her church’s teachings on respect for life, maintaining a “pro-choice” position on abortion. 

In 1993, Clarke was invited to be the keynote speaker at the graduation ceremony for the Institute of Notre Dame in Baltimore. According to a June 9, 1993, article in the Catholic Review, she mutually decided with Catholic school officials not to speak at the all-girls Catholic school after pro-life supporters protested her selection.  

She voted in favor of a 2009 bill that required pro-life pregnancy support centers to post that they did not provide abortion or contraceptive services or face a $500 fine. Then-Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien at the time called the bill “nothing short of harassment.” The bill passed, but was ultimately deemed unconstitutional as it made its way up the courts.

Clarke earned a bachelor’s degree in English literature from what is now Immaculata University in Pennsylvania and a master’s degree in English literature from the University of Pennsylvania. She was a former adjunct faculty member at The Johns Hopkins University School of Professional Studies, Maryland Institute College of Art and University of Maryland Baltimore County. 

Father Joseph Muth Jr., former pastor of St. Matthew and Blessed Sacrament in Baltimore, said he first worked with Clarke when he was part of Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development (BUILD), a mix of churches, synagogues, mosques and interfaith communities united in making Baltimore a better place.

“She had an awareness of what the city needed,” said Father Muth, part-time chaplain at Notre Dame of Maryland University. “She was not afraid to bring her questions to anybody, whether leaders of the city or leaders of the church.”

Clarke was “always very active and exciting and challenging,” he said, “very energetic.”

Father Muth became reacquainted with Clarke when she started attending Blessed Sacrament in more recent years.

“She loved Blessed Sacrament,” Father Muth said. “She felt like she had found her home.”

Clarke’s faith, Father Watters believes, guided much of her public work. She “reached out to the less fortunate,” he said, and had a value system that “resonated with others.”

“What she stood for attracted people to her,” Father Watters said. “Her passing is very sad for us. She had a great presence here.”

A funeral Mass will be offered Nov. 23 at 10:30 a.m. at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Homeland.

George Matysek Jr. contributed to this article.

Email Katie V. Jones at kjones@CatholicReview.org

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