Clark running for state rep; former senatorial challenger says '04 issues motivate campaign

In 2004, Katherine Clark lost a race for state Senate against incumbent and current Sen. Richard Tisei, R-Wakefield.

Despite losing the race by 14 percentage points, then-state Rep. Mike Festa, D-Melrose, told the Free Press at the time that Clark "electrified this campaign." Former Melrose mayor Jim Milano said Tisei "was running worried" and "I haven't seen Richard campaign as hard as he did in this race."

At her concession speech, Clark told the crowd, "I will be back."

When Gov. Deval Patrick appointed Festa as the state Secretary of Elder Affairs in October, leaving the 32nd Middlesex District's state representative seat open, Clark stayed true to her word and jumped in the race to represent Melrose, and Wards 3, 4 5 and 6 in Wakefield.

Clark, 44, formally announced her candidacy Wednesday night at the VFW in Melrose with Attorney General Martha Coakley - Clark recently stepped down from her position in Coakley's office to focus on the campaign - and Festa in attendance.

Clark told the Free Press that her current campaign is a continuation of the '04 race - although she obviously hopes for a different result this time around.

"It's the same issues that motivated me then that are motivating me to run now," she said. "It's really a focus on education, on public safety, looking at economic development and working for working families."

While the issues remain the same, the lessons learned from '04 have stuck with Clark, and she acknowledges this is a different race.

"I think the major difference is that this is an open seat, but what I learned from that race [in 2004] is the power of grassroots campaigning and that all campaigns really boil down to talking to the voters and knowing the issues that they care about," she said. "It's really meeting as many people as you can … our success in '04 came from knocking on doors and being proactive in the communities in the Senate district. I already knew Melrose - of course, it's my home - but it really gave me an opportunity to get to know Wakefield."

Quickly Involved in Melrose

Clark, a native of New Haven, Conn., previously lived in Colorado and then Charlestown, Mass. before moving to Melrose with her family - husband Rodney Powell and sons Addidon, Jared and Nathaniel.

"I always wanted to come back to the Boston area. This had been my sort of second home, as far as I always worked in Boston during college breaks and had interned at the State House in college," she said.

Her kids, Clark said, were the impetus that led her and her husband to settle in Melrose.

"When we were having children we found Melrose and we discovered a community that I think is very unique, certainly in Massachusetts and really in the country, in that it still is really a small city where there's a great sense of family and friendship," she said. "People here I've seen give so much to one another. There's a long tradition of service back to this community and just the volunteerism we see in our schools and our organizations. It's unique and it's very special and this is exactly the type of place I want to raise our family."

Although she only moved to Melrose about eight years ago, Clark quickly became involved in local politics. She first ran for Melrose School Committee in 2001 and has been on the board ever since until not seeking re-election last month, citing the need to balance her family and the demands of her work at the Attorney General's office.

Clark lost the aforementioned bid for state Senate in 2004 and also co-chaired the Democratic Party's state campaign in 2006.

Local and State Involvement