Katherine Clark is honored to represent the 5th Congressional District of Massachusetts. Katherine succeeded Senator Ed Markey in a special election on December 10, 2013. Katherine believes that Republicans in Congress are ignoring the issues that middle class families talk about at their kitchen tables every night – good jobs, excellent schools for our kids, gun safety, and keeping our promises to our seniors and veterans.Katherine’s first official act in Congress was to co-sponsor the Paycheck Fairness Act. Women still earn 77 cents to every dollar a man makes. She believes this is about common sense and fairness and knows how this issue impacts families of Massachusetts. When women earn less, it makes it harder for families to thrive. Katherine will continue to support legislation that focuses on what’s best for our communities. In Congress, she co-sponsored legislation that will boost America’s economy over time by adjusting federal minimum wage standards. “America’s workers deserve the very basic promise of respect, dignity and the ability to care for their families. We are long overdue on this promise, and Congress should work together to pass the Fair Minimum Wage Act.”
Katherine is committed to fighting for equal pay for women, preserving programs that affect our seniors and investing in early education. She will support the President and his vision to strengthen our economy and grow the middle class. The economic divide had gone on for too long and Katherine will continue to promote the economic interests of the 5th Congressional District. Katherine served as the Massachusetts state senator representing Malden, Melrose, Reading, Stoneham, Wakefield and Winchester. Katherine served as chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary. She was first elected in March 2008 to the Massachusetts House of Representatives. During her career, Katherine focused on improving the lives of the families she serves through both constituent service and by focusing on issues that affect families each and every day.
Katherine’s professional career also includes service as general counsel for the Massachusetts Office of Child Care Services, chief of the Policy Division for the Massachusetts Attorney General and prosecutor. Katherine is a graduate of St. Lawrence University, Cornell University School of Law, and the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Katherine serves on the Advisory Council for the Department of Early Education and Care and the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy Advisory Board at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Katherine and her husband Rod are raising their three sons Addison, Jared and Nathaniel in Melrose. The boys attend the public schools and both sets of grandparents help keep the whole operation in motion.