We are forever grateful for her dedication to Baltimore” Baltimore lost a champion for equality and a longtime fixture in Baltimore politics with the passing of beloved former City Council President Mary Pat Clarke.

Funeral arrangements are planned for Mary Pat Clarke, the first woman elected as Baltimore City Council president, who served decades on the legislative body.

Reporters never struggled to elicit a strong opinion from Mary Pat Clarke, especially if she saw a wrong to be righted. It made perfect sense that Clarke was a contemporary of fellow Democrat Barbara Mikulski who served with her on the council at one time before being elected to the U.