Pete Stark

Fortney Hillman "Pete" Stark Jr. (November 11, 1931 – January 24, 2020) was an American businessman and politician. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1973 to 2013. He served as a Democrat from California.

After 2010 redistricting, Stark campaigned for the 15th district seat in 2012, narrowly finished first in the primary but lost in the general election to fellow Democrat Eric Swalwell.

Stark had been the longest-serving member of Congress from California, serving continuously from January 3, 1973 through January 3, 2013.

Early life
Stark was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was raised in San Francisco, California. He studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and at the University of California, Berkeley.

Political career
In 1972, Stark moved to Oakland to run in the Democratic primary against 14-term incumbent U.S. Representative George Paul Miller of Alameda in what was then the 8th district. In the 1972 general election, he defeated Republican Lew Warden with 53% of the vote. He was re-elected a total of 18 times until losing in the 2012 primaries to Eric Swalwell.

2007 Iraq War comment
On October 18, 2007, Stark made the following comments on the House floor during a debate with Congressman Joe Barton of Texas: 

Following the initial criticism to his statements, when asked by a radio station if he would take back any of his statements, Stark responded "Absolutely not. I may have dishonored the Commander-in-Chief, but I think he’s done pretty well to dishonor himself without any help from me."KCBS, "Stark Stands Behind GOP Accusations ", October 18, 2007.

Personal life
Stark revealed he was an atheist in 2007, which made him the first openly atheist member of Congress. In 1989, he married Carolyn Layton nee Wente. They divorced in 1991. He then married Deborah Roderick.

Stark died on January 24, 2020 at his home near Annapolis, Maryland of leukemia, aged 88.

References

Other websites

 Pete Stark for Congress official campaign site

Links formerly displayed via the CongLinks template:
 Congressional profile at GovTrack
 Congressional profile  at OpenCongress
 Financial information (federal office) at OpenSecrets.org

Category:1931 births
Category:2020 deaths
Category:United States representatives from California
Category:American atheists
Category:American bankers
Category:Politicians from San Francisco
Category:Politicians from Milwaukee
Category:Businesspeople from San Francisco
Category:Businesspeople from Wisconsin
Category:Democratic Party (United States) politicians