serviceyears branch allegiance birth_date residence birthname term_end alma_mater imagesize profession preceded term_start spouse image name succeeded birth_place party state district article_title
1955-1957 air force united states of america 11 november 1931 maryland fortney hillman stark , jr. . january 3 , 1975 3 , 2013 january 3 , 1993 january massachusetts california , berkeley -lrb- m.b.a. -rrb- institute of technology -lrb- b.s. -rrb- university of 200px banking executive george miller january 3 , 1973 3 , 1993 january 3 , 1975 january carolyn 1991 -rrb- deborah roderick layton nee wente -lrb- div . 1989 - pete stark.jpg pete stark eric swalwell redistricted milwaukee , wisconsin democratic california california california ca 13 13th ca 9 9th ca 8 8th pete stark

pete stark

fortney hillman `` pete '' stark , jr. -lrb- born november 11 , 1931 -rrb- is an american politician who was a member of the united states house of representatives from 1973 to 2013 .
a democrat from california , stark 's district -- during his last two decades in congress -- was in southwestern alameda county and included alameda , union city , hayward , newark , san leandro , san lorenzo , and fremont -lrb- his residence during the early part of his tenure -rrb- , as well as parts of oakland and pleasanton .
at the time he left office in 2013 , he was the fifth most senior representative , as well as sixth most senior member of congress overall .
he was also the dean of california 's 55-member congressional delegation , and the only open atheist in congress .
prior to his service to the 13th district , stark represented the 8th and 9th congressional districts in 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 .
he was the second-longest serving u.s. congressman , after jack brooks -lrb- d-texas , 1994 -rrb- , to lose a general election .
