David A. Clarke

Vorlage:Infobox officeholder David Alexander Clarke Jr. (born August 21, 1956) is the 64th Sheriff of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. In 2002, Clarke was appointed to a vacancy by Governor Scott McCallum, and later elected that same year to his first four-year term. He was re-elected in November 2006, 2010, and 2014, and is currently serving his fourth full term. Although registered and elected as a Democrat in a heavily Democratic county, Clarke's political views align well with conservative Republicans. Clarke frequently appears as a guest on Fox News and was a speaker at the 2016 Republican National Convention.

Early life, education, and early career

Clarke was born in Milwaukee, one of five children of Jeri and David Clarke Sr. His father is was a paratrooper with the 2nd Ranger Infantry Company. Clarke Jr. attended Marquette University High School.

His career in law enforcement began in 1978 at the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD). He "rose through the ranks at a slow but steady pace in his 24 years with the department." Clarke was a patrol officer for eleven years and then a homicide detective; he was promoted to lieutenant of detectives in 1993 and captain in 1999.

In 1999, Clarke received a B.A. in Management of Criminal Justice from Concordia University Wisconsin's School of Adult and Continuing Education.

In January 2002, Milwaukee County Sheriff Leverett F. (Lev) Baldwin resigned midway through his term to take a pension payout. Clarke was one of ten applicants for the position, and was appointed sheriff on March 19, 2002, by Governor Scott McCallum. He was elected to a full term later in 2002, and has been reelected every four years since then.

Sheriff of Milwaukee

Budget and clashes with Milwaukee County government

Clarke has often clashed with the county government over the sheriff's office budget, engaging "in a long-running, high-profile tiff" over the issue with Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele, "with Clarke providing the more incendiary rhetoric." Abele's proposed budget for 2014 would cut $12 million from the Sheriff's Office budget, eliminating 69 jobs and "shifting park patrols, emergency management, 911 communications and training divisions" to other entities, such as the Milwaukee Police Department, suburban police departments, and the county Department of Emergency Preparedness. Abele described the budget as a way to refocus the sheriff's office on "core, mandated services." Clarke issued a statement calling Abele a "vindictive little man" and saying that "Abele should be drug-tested. He has to be on heroin or hallucinating with that statement." Abele responded by saying that it was "unfortunate the sheriff, instead of engaging in thoughtful civil discourse, is making personal attacks and making light of a serious problem in our community and state."

On another occasion, Clarke said that Abele had "penis envy."

In 2015, Clarke clashed with Abele again after Clarke filed a lawsuit against the county over the sheriff's budget, seeking $25 million in funds to hire 75 deputies, 43 House of Corrections officers and 17 supervisors. Clarke argued that his office is underfunded by the county, while Abele noted that the sheriff's office had received the largest increase of any county department and criticized Clarke for having what he termed "a very heavy command staff," "a lot of unnecessary overtime," and redundancies in courthouse security.

A county audit released in 2012 showed that the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office used asset forfeiture funds to buy exercise equipment for Clarke's command staff, for a Disney training, and for a mounted patrol unit. The audit reported that the spending violated county procurement rules, although not federal rules on the use of seized money. Clarke was criticized for the amount of money spent on the mounted patrol by County Supervisor Patricia Jursik; Clarke defended the office's use of the funds.

House of Corrections

In January 2008, a National Institute of Corrections audit of the Milwaukee County House of Correction in Franklin identified 44 areas of concern, calling the House of Correction "dysfunctional" and determining that it suffered from "serious security, staff morale and management flaws." The House of Corrections was at the time a separate Milwaukee County department overseen by a superintendent who reported to then Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker. Walker and the County Board transferred control over the House to the Sheriff's Department under Clarke on January 1, 2009. The House's former work-release center was transferred to the Milwaukee County Jail. Clarke received praise for rapidly correcting many of the issues identified in the report.

Position on gun issues

In January 2013, Clarke was featured on a series of public radio ads that said citizens could no longer rely on the police for timely protection and should arm themselves. Later that month, Clarke appeared on the CNN program Piers Morgan Live, with Milwaukee Mayor and gun-control advocate Tom Barrett, who "said it was irresponsible of Clarke to 'basically imply' that it won't help citizens to call 911 when they need help."

Position on marijuana possession

In 2015, Clarke was asked in a House Judiciary hearing: "Would you agree that marijuana possession is not the scourge of the black community and does not lead to violent crime the same way that meth, crack cocaine, and heroin do?” Clarke answered that he did not agree with that statement at all.

Political views and associations

Clarke holding up a copy of the United States Constitution

Clarke is registered as a Democrat, which is advantageous in heavily Democratic Milwaukee County. However, Clarke is almost universally regarded as a conservative and has been referred to as "right of most righties." Clarke "is frequently critical of Milwaukee Democrats, such as Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett; he speaks at many Republican functions, and he has the backing of the National Rifle Association," which has raised funds for his reelection campaigns. Clarke has in turn been criticized by the local Democratic Party. On his website in 2014, Clarke stated that he questioned "why the Office of Sheriff is a partisan election" and wrote: I have never asked a person to vote for me because I run as a Democrat. I ask them to vote for me based on my 35-year commitment to keeping citizens safe. Most voters get it when it comes to public safety. There is no Democrat or Republican way to be a sheriff. The enemy is not the opposing party; the enemy is the criminal."

Clarke is viewed as an "iconoclastic sheriff," one of "a long line of controversy-courting lawmen" that includes Richard Mack and Joe Arpaio in Arizona. Clarke has been "associated with those on the political extremes" on occasion, and has attracted attention for these "dalliances with the far right." In 2013, Clarke accepted the "Sheriff of the Year Award" by the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, a group of sheriffs founded by Mack. The Southern Poverty Law Center has criticized founder Mack and his organization for espousing "radical-right" views. Earlier the same year, Clarke appeared for an interview on the syndicated show of Alex Jones, who is "best known for his anti-government views and conspiracy theories on everything from fluoride to the 9-11 terrorist attacks." Clarke has also appeared on CNN, Fox News, and other major news outlets to discuss ongoing police controversies.

Clarke is a frequent and vociferous critic of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, referring to it as "Black Lies Matter" and describing the movement as a hate group. Clarke denies that cops are more willing to shoot black suspects than white suspects, has labeled BLM activists "subhuman creeps," and has called for the eradication of the movement "from American society." Clarke has blamed "liberal policies" for rioting and other issues in American cities. Clarke's stance on the movement has been criticized by the Milwaukee chapter of the NAACP and other activists.

Clarke has harshly criticized various black critics of police abuses. He has called former Attorney General Eric Holder an "a-hole" and accused him in testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee of "outright hostility" toward police; referred to Al Sharpton as a "charlatan"; and criticized Beyoncé for her halftime-show performance at the 2016 Super Bowl.

Clarke is a strong supporter of Republican Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, saying that he would "do everything I can" to help Trump win the presidency. Clarke spoke at the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio.

Persona and media appearances

Clarke on horseback at the 2008 Milwaukee St. Patrick's Day parade

Clarke frequently appears at public events on horseback wearing a cowboy hat.

Clarke "has become a fixture of conservative media" and in 2015 began hosting a podcast talk show, "David Clarke: The People's Sheriff," on Glenn Beck's TheBlaze Radio Network, where he has expressed support for the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. He received criticism for his statement on his podcast: "Let me tell you why blacks sell drugs and involve themselves in criminal behavior instead of a more socially acceptable lifestyle: because they're uneducated, they're lazy and they're morally bankrupt. That's why." Clarke also frequently appears as a guest on Fox News, and on one occasion in September 2015 guest-hosted The Sean Hannity Show.

Potential mayoral run

In January 2014, Clarke announced he was considering a run for mayor of Milwaukee in 2016, but ultimately decided not to run, instead endorsing Republican Alderman Bob Donovan's unsuccessful bid to unseat Mayor Barrett.

Proselytism lawsuit

In 2006, Clarke invited members of an evangelical Christian organization, the Fellowship of Christian Centurions, to speak at several mandatory employee meetings, at which the group members proselytized. Several deputies complained about the Centurions' proselytizing, but Clarke refused to stop the presentations. The sheriff deputies' union and two individual sheriff's deputies (a Catholic and a Muslim) successfully sued Clarke in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. Clarke appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, which upheld the lower court's ruling in 2009. The sheriff did not seek review in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Death of Terrill Thomas

The Milwaukee County Jail turned the water off to inmate Terrill Thomas' cell, resulting in his death by profound dehydration on April 24, 2016. According to inmates, the water was turned off for six days and the staff refused to provide water to Thomas. On September 15, 2016, Clarke's office sent out a press release which states it would not be commenting on the matter until the investigation is complete.

Personal life

Clarke and his wife live on the northwest side of Milwaukee.

Electoral history: Milwaukee County sheriff elections (2002-2014)

2002

2002 Democratic primary

• David Clarke - 59%
• Pete Misko - 26%
• Mark Hayes - 15%

2002 general election

• David Clarke (D) - 74%
• Ken Bohn (R), 25%

2006

2006 Democratic primary

• David Clarke - 54%
• Vincent Bobot - 46%

2006 general election

• David Clarke (D) - 78%
• Don Holt (R), 21%

2010

2010 Democratic primary

• David Clarke - 53%
• Chris Moews - 47%

2010 general election

• David Clarke (D) - 74%
• Steven Duckhorn (R) - 25%

2014

2014 Democratic primary

• David Clarke - 52%
• Chris Moews - 48%

2014 General Election

• David Clarke (D) - 79%
• Angela Nicole Walker (ran as an Independent in the election, but currently a member of the Socialist Party USA) - 21%

External links

• "The People's Sheriff" PAC — official website of the super PAC affiliated with Clarke
  • Profile of the super PAC from the Center for Responsive Politics

• Vorlage:C-SPAN