Cordell Cleare

Cordell Cleare (born December 5, 1965) is an American activist and politician from Harlem, New York City. A member-elect of the Democratic Party, she has been politically active in Harlem since the late 1990s and is currently the state-senator elect for New York's 30th State Senate district.[1]

Cordell Cleare
Cleare in 2017
Member-elect of the New York State Senate
from the 30th district
Assuming office
TBD
SucceedingBrian Benjamin
Personal details
Born (1965-12-05) December 5, 1965
The Bahamas
NationalityAmerican
Political partyDemocratic
EducationBrooklyn Tech
OccupationPolitician
Activist
WebsiteCampaign website

Early life

Cordell Cleare was born in the Bahamas and raised in Harlem. She attended and graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School then attended and graduated from SUNY Empire State College in Manhattan.

Career

Cleare worked for over 18 years for New York State Senator Bill Perkins and served as his Chief of Staff for several years.[2][3] Cleare has served on the District #3 Community Education Council, and was a Community School Board member for six years.[4] In 2008, Cleare campaigned for then-Senator Barack Obama's presidential run.[5] In 2012, she supported Obama's run for re-election, and was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention.[6]

Cleare ran for New York City Council to represent District 9 in 2017, losing to her old boss Perkins.[7][8] She ran again for that seat in 2021, with both her and Perkins losing to Kristin Richardson Jordan.[9]

On September 25, 2021, Cleare was selected by the Manhattan Democratic Committee to be the Democratic nominee in a special election for New York's 30th State Senate district. The district became vacant when incumbent Brian Benjamin was appointed Lieutenant Governor.[1] However, it is so heavily Democratic that Cleare was effectively chosen as its next state senator. The special election occurred on November 2, 2021, and she won with over 88% of the vote.[10]

Awards
  • 1997: Brooke Russell Astor Award - Co-chair of the New York City Coalition to End Lead Poisoning[11]

References
  1. Olumhense, Ele (September 27, 2021). "Manhattan Dems Pick Cordell Cleare to Replace Brian Benjamin in Harlem Senate Race". City Limits. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  2. "HUD: The Horror Movie". Village Voice. 9 January 2001. Retrieved 2017-07-07.
  3. Seigal, Nina (1999-03-07). "NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: HARLEM; Legality of Sudden Evictions at S.R.O. Hotel Is Disputed". The New York Times. Retrieved 2017-07-07.
  4. "Harlem's 'Cleare' winner". New York Amsterdam News. May 31, 2013. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  5. Cardwell, Diane (February 4, 2008). "Inspired by Obama, Filmmaker Takes on Politics - NYTimes.com". The New York Times. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  6. "Photo New York Amsterdam News: The new Black view". News York Amsterdam News. December 12, 2013. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  7. "Cordell Cleare". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2017-07-07.
  8. "Cordell Cleare is our choice for the 9th Council District | New York Amsterdam News: The new Black view". Amsterdamnews.com. 9 February 2017. Retrieved 2017-07-07.
  9. "HISTORY — African American Day Parade, Inc". Africanamericandayparade.com. Retrieved 2017-07-07.
  10. "Our Campaigns - NY State Senate 30 Special Race - Nov 02, 2021".
  11. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-01-30.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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