This article will be permanently flagged as inappropriate and made unaccessible to everyone. Are you certain this article is inappropriate? Excessive Violence Sexual Content Political / Social
Email Address:
Article Id: WHEBN0019286605 Reproduction Date:
Marcia L. Fudge (born (1952-10-29)October 29, 1952) is the U.S. Representative for Ohio's 11th congressional district, serving since 2008. She is a member of the Democratic Party.[4] The district includes an area from Cleveland to Akron. Rep. Fudge has been Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus since 2013.
Fudge, a 1971 graduate of Shaker Heights High School,[5] earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business from Ohio State University in 1975.[6] In 1983, she earned a law degree from Cleveland–Marshall College of Law, part of Cleveland State University.[6][7]
Immediately after college, she worked as a law clerk and studied legal research. She also worked in the Cuyahoga County prosecutor's office.[8] While serving in the prosecutors' office, she worked on business aspects as she held the position of Director of Budget and Finance. Fudge has also worked as an auditor for the estate tax department and has occasionally served as a visiting judge and as a chief referee for arbitration. [9]
Fudge was the Mayor of Warrensville Heights, a middle-class and mostly African-American suburb of Cleveland, from January 2000 until November 18, 2008.[1][10] She was victorious in her first ever run for elective office, becoming the first woman and first African-American elected mayor of the town.[11]
She was chief of staff to 11th District Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones during Jones' first term in Congress.[12] She has also served on the board of trustees for the Cleveland Public Library.[11]
After Jones' unexpected death on August 20, 2008, Fudge was selected as Jones' replacement on the November ballot by a committee of local Democratic leaders. This virtually assured her of election in this heavily Democratic, black-majority district.[13][14] Fudge won the November 4 general election, defeating Republican Thomas Pekarek with 85 percent of the vote.[15] She was unopposed in a November 18 special election for the balance of Jones' fifth term, and won with less than 9,000 votes cast.[16] [17] She was sworn in on November 19, 2008.[18][19]
Fudge was challenged by Republican Thomas Pekarek. She was re-elected with 82.5% of the vote.[20]
Fudge defeated a couple of minor candidates in the Democratic primary, and ran unopposed in the general election.
During a presentation at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation 44th Annual Legislative Conference in September 2014 Rep. Fudge commented on the need for black voters to get out an "vote". Rep. Fudge said, "If we don't vote, believe it or not they are going to file articles of impeachment against our President. If we don't vote, the street in front of your house is not going to get fixed. If we don't vote, we're going to have hungry children across this country".[21] Rep. Fudge continued to use fear as a tool to mobilize voters by saying; "Once they know what is at stake, they will vote," Fudge promised, adding that her Caucus will tell black voters that Republicans will try to change entitlement programs, reduce funds for schools and emergency services, raise the Social Security retirement age, remove money from Medicaid or Medicare and "make our lives miserable for the next two years" if their power in Congress increases. [22]
She also predicted GOP members of Congress would "try to make our president an illegitimate president" with claims that he isn't born in the United States, wasn't smart enough to go to Harvard, and ignores the laws. [23]
"We will have two more years of that foolishness if they take back the Senate and get a few more seats in the House," said Fudge, a Warrensville Heights Democrat, who predicted voters "will be standing in the line waiting for the doors to open" at the polls when they hear what members of her group have to say. [24]
Rep. Fudge, during the Congressional Black Caucus town hall meeting chastised voters for complaining and reminded them the Congressional Black Caucus was doing fighting for them. Rep. Fudge commented; "The black caucus fights for you every day. Even when you won’t fight for yourself. We fight for you. Whether it’s immigration or education, whether it’s food stamps or housing, we fight for you every day. So my message to you is to contain your complaining." [25]
Fudge is a past president of Delta Sigma Theta sorority, serving from 1996 to 2000,[27][28] and is a co-chair of the sorority's National Social Action Commission.[29][30] In 2003, she was a member of the Shaker Heights Alumni Association's Hall of Fame Class.[5]
Fudge has been a member of the Church of God (Anderson),[11][31] and is now a member of Zion Chapel Baptist Church.[9]
Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Lyndon B. Johnson, Politics
Mitt Romney, Barack Obama, Richard Nixon, Abraham Lincoln, Ronald Reagan
Republican Party (United States), Democratic Party (United States), United States Senate, United States Congress, United States
University of Texas at Austin, Michigan State University, University of Michigan, United States, University of Florida
Democratic Party (United States), Republican Party (United States), J. William Stanton, Mell G. Underwood, Stephanie Tubbs Jones
Ohio's 1st congressional district, Ohio's 2nd congressional district, Ohio's 3rd congressional district, Ohio's 4th congressional district, Ohio's 5th congressional district
Democratic Party (United States), Republican Party (United States), New York, Virginia, Kansas
The New York Times, Libertarian Party (United States), Center for Responsive Politics, Congressional Quarterly, United States Republican Party
Republican Party (United States), Democratic Party (United States), Libertarian Party (United States), Federal Election Commission, Project Vote Smart
Democratic Party (United States), Republican Party (United States), Maryland, Libertarian Party (United States), List of United States Representatives from Maryland