Clarke

NEW YORK (CMC):

A Caribbean-American New York City Council-woman has been elected to the United States House of Representatives, representing the predominantly Carib-bean, 11th Congressional District in Brooklyn.

Running on both the Democratic Party and Working Families Party's line, Yvette Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, won, by a massive landslide, the seat vacated by retired veteran African American Congressman, Major Owens.

Clarke, 41 - whose mother is Una Clarke, the Jamaican-born, first Caribbean woman to ever hold elective office in New York City - received 83,128 votes, or 89 per cent, to her closest challenger, Republican Stephen Finger, who received 7,277 votes, or 8 per cent. There were two other contenders in the race.

"I'm so appreciative and very humble to the voters of the 11th Congressional District for sending me to Congress," Clarke told cheering supporters in Brooklyn after the results were announced late Tuesday night.

"I will not forsake you," she added, flanked by her mother and father, Leslie Clarke. "Together, our voices were heard. We can make a difference.

We did it!"

Confidence

In a largely Democratic New York City, Clarke had earlier expressed confidence of victory to the Caribbean Media Corporation after winning the Democratic Primary in September in a four-way race, which included well-financed white City Councilman David Yassky and Owens' son, Chris.

Tuesday night she said her triumph was made in the spirit of, among others, her mother and the late Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, the daughter of Barbadian and Guyanese immigrants, who first held the seat in the late 1960s.

"As your Congresswoman, in the spirit of Shirley Chisholm, I pledge to provide leadership through unity and collaboration to tackle the many challenges confronting us in the 11th Congressional District, nationally and on the global scene," she said.