A member of a fifth-generation Washington County family, Clarke recently made his mark in Mississippi politics by winning Neely Carlton’s former seat in the State Senate for District 22, doing so as a Republican in a heavily-populated Democratic district.

“I had always kept the option open for entering statewide politics,” Clarke says in reference to his historic win. “When Neely’s seat came open, I had some friends who were astute political observers tell me that here was an opportunity. As a native and resident of Hollandale, I was smack-dab in the middle of the district and the odds looked good.” His advisors proved quite astute, indeed and prescient.

Born at the old Greenville Air Base Hospital (what is now Mid-Delta Regional Airport) in 1956, “Buck” Clarke started out in life in the pure Delta.

“My parents were both Hollandale natives and my dad was in flight school with the Air Force, hence my birth at the base,” Clarke says. “While he was being trained, my mother lived with her mother in Hollandale.

When my father, also Eugene S. Clark came home,” he continues, “the family moved around a good bit with the Air Force. He was a Certified Public Accountant, as I am, and he ended up landing a job with a large firm in Jackson when I was four years old. We lived there for three years until my dad decided he wanted to come back home to Hollandale and start his own accounting practice,” Clarke says.

“So,” he continues, “I started the first grade at Hollandale Elementary and went straight through to graduation, leaving Deer Creek School as a graduate in 1974. I loved the Delta growing up and my living here has shaped my values and outlook on life, for the better.”
After high school, Clarke entered Mississippi State University, graduating in 1978 with a BS in Accounting. It didn’t come as a shock when he decided to return to Hollandale to start his career.

“You know, at that time, back in the late Seventies, it was still considered a fine thing, a natural thing, to move back to the Delta after college,” Clarke remembers. “I believe it’s going to be that way again soon. Somehow, we got away from that, mainly due to a lack of job opportunities for young people, which I think will certainly turn around in the future. But back then, it was almost expected that you would come home.”

In May of 1979, not long after returning to Hollandale, Clarke married the former Paula Watkins of West Point, MS, who is also a CPA. “It’s funny,” Clarke chuckles. “My father is a CPA, my wife is a CPA and so is my brother. One of my friends commented to me once that he bet our house was a load of laughs at Christmas time!”

Clarke and his wife have three children (“spaced out just right,” he laughs): daughter, Anne Read, born in 1983, who is a junior at the University of Alabama; son, Carlisle S. Clarke, born in 1985, a freshman at the University of Georgia; and another daughter, Ellen, born in 1987, who is a high school junior at Deer Creek.

Passing the CPA exam in 1981 and becoming partner a year later in the firm his father started, Clarke, Bradley, Baker and Co., Clarke embarked on his accounting career which has made him a name as a strong community and business leader.

“I have always really loved being involved in the community in Hollandale,” Clarke says. Heavily involved in the Boy Scouts, the Washington County Board of Education and the Deer Creek Educational Institute, Inc. as a present board member and former president, Clarke says one of the keys to the future of the Delta is working with the young people and giving them guidance and inspiration when possible.

Clarke is also a very active member of the Hollandale First United Methodist Church, where he has been Chairman of the Administrative Board, a Lay Leader, Sunday School teacher and a song leader in the choir.

While always maintaining an interest in politics over the years, Clarke says as his accounting business grew he become more involved in policy study and how certain government programs effect business—both positively and negatively.

“Working with businesses and seeing how taxes could harm their growth and potential influenced my conservative views vis a vis government policy,” Clarke says. “It’s unfortunate, but so much of politics and political positioning is hinged on money. President Reagan’s supply-side economic policies, however, worked in the 80’s, and I observed how the top tax rates dropped dramatically during his administrations.

“The beauty of Reagan’s tax cuts,” Clarke goes on, “is that, in the first year, they had to revenue-neutral to pass through Congress. This encouraged more subsequent economic growth. That’s what I’d love to see happen in Mississippi: somehow drop rates on one side. You might have to make up somewhere else in the first year, of course, but a system would be in place that would encourage more future growth.

“I was, and still am, an avid reader of National Review, Policy Review and other various conservative news and policy magazines,” Clarke says. “I kept myself educated on, and knowledgeable of, political trends. William F. Buckley, Jr. had a strong influence on my thinking, as did President Ronald Reagan. I admired him greatly.”

Clarke reveals that, in the back of his mind, he was always considering the possibility of taking the political “plunge.”

“I did run unsuccessfully for mayor of Hollandale in 1991,” Clarke says. “It was a close race. I was encouraged by my showing and I got my feet wet, so there were no regrets. In fact, many folks asked that I consider running for office again after I was defeated for mayor, so there was still support.”

Fast forward to 2003: Clarke had several friends and confidantes encourage him to run for Marshall Bennett’s State Treasurer position. “But, you know, when Senator Carlton made her decision, that just seemed more right, more in line with what I saw in my political future,” Clarke says.

The day in February he signed and sent in his papers to run for the District 22 Senate seat, Clarke says that his mother was in his office with him. “We were talking about it, and she finally got up, hugged me and said, ‘You need to do it!’ It was a special moment.”

Clarke says that running for the seat in the state’s largest district—populated by some 53,000 people—was daunting but also exhilarating. “I did a lot of house-to-house campaigning, politicking the old-fashioned way,” Clarke says. “With Haley Barbour running, I knew that the state GOP would be more supportive and galvanized for this election and that that would only help me. And it certainly did.”

He admits that he felt good the day of the election, having heard reports from family members and friends out in the field that things looked positive. Indeed they were. “It was an honor for me to win this election,” Clarke says. “And while it’s said a lot, I will not take my position lightly.”

After being sworn in on January 6, Clarke says there are several issues that will demand his attention in his new position.

“The biggest issue is jobs—the economy is in the forefront right now,” he says. “In my profession, I have seen how the loss of jobs can be devastating to a small, local economy. But there are bright spots ahead: The 2003 ag crop is going to be a big boost for the Delta economy. The Farm Bill worked to our benefit and prices were great this fall with unbelievably good harvest weather to go along with them. A lot of extra money will be put in farmer’s pockets and they’ll be able to retire some old debts, buy new equipment and help our local economies.”

Clarke continues, “I will use my accounting background to address the needs of businesses in my district. I can talk their language. One thing I really want to do at some point is offer entrepreneur seminars in the region, teaching people how to open and successfully operate a business. Nothing is more important for our local economy than the local businessman or woman. A number of our people have outstanding marketable skills and talents but don’t know how to run a business. They need assistance and guidelines and I’d like to see some type of seminar open those doors for them.”

A tennis player and occasional runner, Senator Clarke sees those hobbies taking a back seat when he takes office. “I am grateful to be in this position and I truly feel I can help my district become stronger economically. I wouldn’t have run if I didn’t believe that. “

Representing a new breed of political leadership in District 22, “Buck” Clarke is obviously a dedicated, well-educated man who understands when government can help—and when it can hurt. His future political career will certainly be one worth watching. DBJ