Chaka Fattah

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Chaka Fattah
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Pennsylvania's 2nd district
Assumed office
January 4, 1995–
Preceded byLucien Blackwell
Personal details
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseRenee Chenault-Fattah

Chaka Fattah, born Arthur Davenport (21 November 1956 in Philadelphia), 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 Representative in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1983 to 1988 and a State Senator from 1988 to 1994, defeating Republican incumbent Milton Street. He has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1994, representing the 2nd district in Pennsylvania after defeating Lucien Blackwell in the Democratic primary.

Main article: Philadelphia mayoral election, 2007

In November of 2006, he declared his candidacy for Mayor of Philadelphia [1], 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, maintaining 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, emphasizing his campaign platform of being in favor of better educational opportunities for city youth.

Since emerging as a mayoral candidate, Fattah has come under fire from the Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) for his repeated calls to grant a new trial to Mumia Abu-Jamal. [2] Abu-Jamal was convicted of the 1981 murder of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner, [3] creating contention between people who believe he is guilty [4] and those who believe he received an unfair trial and wrong conviction. [5] The case is currently under appeal, after previous appeals resulted in a death sentence being thrown out but failed to overturn the conviction. He was also criticized for possibly unethical campaign spending, based on new campaign finance rules adopted by the city of Philadelphia after a high profile FBI investigation into corruption in the Street administration resulted in over 30 people pleading guilty or being convicted. The Fattah campaign defended itself, claiming that it had followed less restrictive federal rules in spending the money. [6] A portion of the excess contributions was later returned to the exploratory committee from Fattah's mayoral fund, following a settlement with the city's Board of Ethics. [6]

Congressman Fattah, who represents an overwhelmingly Democratic district, opposed the War in Iraq and supports Congressman John Murtha's call for troop withdrawal.[7] He has publicly supported the “Bring Our Troops Home and Iraq Sovereignty Act” a bill which calls for bringing the troops home within six months and transitioning the Iraqis to self government.

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. [8]. 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. [9]

He has four brothers.

He is the father of three daughters and one son. His two youngest daughters go to private school.

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

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

Ideological ratings

References

  1. ^ It’s official: Chaka Fattah is in the mayor’s race Philadelphia Inquirer
  2. ^ Fattah draws FOP wrath over Abu-Jamal issue The Philadelphia Daily News
  3. ^ The Open & Shut case that won't close The Philadelphia Daily News
  4. ^ Justice for Police Officer Daniel Faulkner Justice for Daniel Faulkner Website
  5. ^ The Mobilization to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Free Mumia Website
  6. ^ 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).
  7. ^ An Interview with Congressman Chaka Fattah The Philadelphia Jewish Voice
  8. ^ House of Umoja House of Umoja Website
  9. ^ Chaka Fattah educational background Philadelphia Daily News
  10. ^ Representative Chaka Fattah (PA) Project Vote Smart

External links

  • U.S. Congressman Chaka Fattah Official House site
  • United States Congress. "Chaka Fattah (id: f000043)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
  • Federal Election Commission - Chaka Fattah campaign finance reports and data
  • On the Issues - Chaka Fattah issue positions and quotes
  • OpenSecrets.org - Chaka Fattah campaign contributions
  • Project Vote Smart - Representative Chaka Fattah (PA) profile
  • SourceWatch Congresspedia - Chaka Fattah profile
  • Washington Post - Congress Votes Database: Chaka Fattah voting record
  • Fattah for Mayor official campaign site
  • Profile on thenextmayor.com
  • [1] freemasonry
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