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*'''2000 Race for US House'''
*'''2000 Race for US House'''
**Chaka Fattah (D) (inc.), 98%
**Chaka Fattah (D) (inc.), 98%
**Ken Krawchuk (Libertarian), 2%
**[[Ken V. Krawchuk]] ([[Libertarian Party (United States)|Libertarian]]), 2%
*'''1998 Race for US House'''
*'''1998 Race for US House'''
**Chaka Fattah (D) (inc.), 86%
**Chaka Fattah (D) (inc.), 86%

Revision as of 23:15, 28 June 2010

Chaka Fattah
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Pennsylvania's 2nd district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 1995
Preceded byLucien Blackwell
Member of the Pennsylvania Senate
from the 7th district
In office
January 3, 1989 – August 31, 1994[1]
Preceded byFreeman Hankins
Succeeded byVincent Hughes
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
from the 192nd district
In office
January 4, 1983 – November 30, 1988
Preceded byNick Pucciarelli
Succeeded byLouise Bishop
Personal details
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)i) Michelle Fattah
ii) Renee Chenault-Fattah
ChildrenFrances Fattah
Cameron Fattah
Chandler Fattah
Chaka Fattah Jr.
ResidencePhiladelphia
Alma materCommunity College of Philadelphia
University of Pennsylvania
OccupationLegislator

Chaka Fattah (born Arthur Davenport on November 21, 1956 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), has served as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1994, representing the 2nd congressional district of Pennsylvania (map), which includes North Philadelphia, West Philadelphia, a very small portion of Northeast Philadelphia and Cheltenham Township in Montgomery County.

Public life

He served as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1983 to 1988 and as a State Senator from 1988 to 1994. He has served in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing the 2nd district in Pennsylvania, since 1995, after defeating Lucien Blackwell in the 1994 Democratic primary.

In 2002, he was named to the PoliticsPA list of Best Dressed Legislators, noting his "excellence in haberdashery."[2]

He endorsed Barack Obama for President in 2008.[3] He has also proclaimed that NASA's voting contest for naming rights for a module on the International Space Station should be honored by naming one "Colbert" in honor of TV personality Stephen Colbert.[4][5]

Fattah, who represents an overwhelmingly Democratic district, opposed the War in Iraq and supported Congressman John Murtha's call for troop withdrawal.[6] He has publicly supported the “Bring Our Troops Home and Iraq Sovereignty Act” a bill that called for bringing the troops home within six months and transitioning the Iraqis to self government.

2007 mayoral candidacy

Main article: Philadelphia mayoral election, 2007

In November 2006, he declared his candidacy for Mayor of Philadelphia[7], where two-term incumbent Mayor John F. Street was barred from re-election by term limits, amid pressure from Democratic voters to keep his Congressional seat in order to maintain a Philadelphia representative on the powerful Appropriations Committee in the House. His candidacy announcement took place next to the recently-completed Microsoft School of the Future in the city's Parkside neighborhood to emphasize his campaign platform of better educational opportunities for city youth.

After emerging as a mayoral candidate, Fattah came under fire from the Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police for his repeated calls to grant a new trial to Mumia Abu-Jamal, who was convicted of murdering police officer Daniel Faulkner in 1981[8]; he also was criticized for possibly unethical campaign spending, based on new campaign finance rules adopted by the city of Philadelphia. The Fattah campaign defended itself, claiming that it had followed less restrictive federal rules in spending the money,[9] but eventually returned a portion of the excess contributions to the exploratory committee following a settlement with the city's Board of Ethics.[9] Fattah eventually came in fourth in the Democratic primary, close behind fellow Congressman Bob Brady but well behind former city councilman Michael Nutter, who went on to win the fall general election handily.

Committee assignments

Personal

Fattah's parents, David Fattah (born Russell Davenport) and Sister Falaka Fattah (born Frances Brown, also known as Queen Mother Falaka Fattah), are community activists in West Philadelphia, where they are building an "urban Boys' Town" through their organization, the House of Umoja.[10] Chaka Fattah has lived all his life in the city, attending Overbrook High School, the Community College of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania's Fels Institute of Government, where he received an MGA in 1986.[11]

He has four brothers.[citation needed]

He is the father of three daughters, Frances, Cameron, & Chandler and one son, Chaka Fattah Jr. His two youngest daughters go to private school.[citation needed]

He has been married twice.[citation needed] His current wife is Renee Chenault-Fattah, a local Philadelphia television news broadcaster on WCAU-TV (NBC 10).[citation needed]

He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African Americans.[citation needed] Representative Fattah is a Prince Hall Freemason, Scottish Rite.[citation needed]

Election Results

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania, 2008 § District 2
  • 2008 Race for US House[12]
    • Chaka Fattah (D) (inc.), 89%
    • Adam Lang (R), 11%
  • 2006 Race for US House
    • Chaka Fattah (D) (inc.), 89%
    • Michael Gessner (R), 9%
  • 2004 Race for US House
    • Chaka Fattah (D) (inc.), 88%
    • Stewart Bolno (R), 12%
  • 2002 Race for US House
    • Chaka Fattah (D) (inc.), 88%
    • Tom Dougherty (R), 12%
  • 2000 Race for US House
  • 1998 Race for US House
    • Chaka Fattah (D) (inc.), 86%
    • Anne Marie Mulligan (R), 14%
  • 1996 Race for US House
    • Chaka Fattah (D) (inc.), 88%
    • Larry Murphy (R), 12%
  • 1994 Race for US House
    • Chaka Fattah (D), 79%
    • Lawrence Watson (R), 18%

Ideological ratings

References

  1. ^ Cox, Harold (2004). "Pennsylvania Senate - 1993-1994" (PDF). Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.
  2. ^ "Sy Snyder's Best Dressed Legislators". PoliticsPA. The Publius Group. 2002. Archived from the original on 2002-08-30. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 2002-08-03 suggested (help)
  3. ^ TheHill.com - Endorsements 2008
  4. ^ Chaka Fattah Supports Stephen Colbert
  5. ^ Stephen Colbert Banned from Politics
  6. ^ An Interview with Congressman Chaka Fattah The Philadelphia Jewish Voice
  7. ^ It’s official: Chaka Fattah is in the mayor’s race Philadelphia Inquirer
  8. ^ Fattah draws FOP wrath over Abu-Jamal issue The Philadelphia Daily News
  9. ^ a b Fattah campaign may have used 'exploratory' $ The Philadelphia Inquirer Cite error: The named reference "CAMPAIGNFINANCE" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  10. ^ House of Umoja House of Umoja Website
  11. ^ Chaka Fattah educational background Philadelphia Daily News
  12. ^ "2008 General Election: Official Returns". Pennsylvania Department of State. November 4, 2008.
  13. ^ Representative Chaka Fattah (PA) Project Vote Smart
  14. ^ http://www.ontheissues.org/PA/Chaka_Fattah.htm

Media related to Chaka Fattah at Wikimedia Commons

U.S. House of Representatives

Template:USRepSuccession box

Pennsylvania State Senate
Preceded by Member of the Pennsylvania Senate for the 7th District
1989–1994 		Succeeded by
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 192nd District
1983–1988 		Succeeded by
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