Lacy Clay facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lacy Clay
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri's 1st district |
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| In office January 3, 2001 – January 3, 2021 |
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| Preceded by | Bill Clay |
| Succeeded by | Cori Bush |
| Member of the Missouri Senate from the 4th district |
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| In office September 1991 – January 2001 |
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| Preceded by | John Bass |
| Succeeded by | Pat Dougherty |
| Member of the Missouri House of Representatives from the 59th district |
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| In office November 1983 – September 1991 |
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| Preceded by | Nat Rivers |
| Succeeded by | Frank Williamson |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
William Lacy Clay Jr.
July 27, 1956 St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouses |
Ivie Lewellen
(m. 1992; div. 2011)Pat Goncalves
(m. 2015) |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Bill Clay (father) |
| Education | University of Maryland, College Park (BA) |
William Lacy Clay Jr. (born July 27, 1956) is an American politician. He served as a U.S. Representative for Missouri from 2001 to 2021. His father, Bill Clay, was also a U.S. Representative.
Lacy Clay represented Missouri's 1st congressional district. This district covers the city of St. Louis and much of northern St. Louis County. It includes cities like Maryland Heights, University City, Ferguson, and Florissant.
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Early Life and Education
William Lacy Clay Jr. was born in St. Louis, Missouri. When his father was elected to Congress, his family moved to Washington, D.C.. His mother's name was Carol Ann Johnson.
As a teenager, Clay went to public schools in Silver Spring, Maryland. He graduated from Springbrook High School in 1974. Later, he attended the University of Maryland, College Park. There, he earned a degree in political science. He also received a certificate to work as a paralegal, which means he helps lawyers. Clay is a member of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. He also studied at Howard University School of Law. Before becoming a politician, he worked as an Assistant Doorkeeper of the United States House of Representatives. He also helped with his father's campaigns for Congress.
Missouri State Legislature
Clay began his political career in the Missouri House of Representatives in 1983. He won a special election to finish the term of Nathaniel J. "Nat" Rivers. In 1991, he was elected to the Missouri Senate. These are parts of Missouri's state government.
U.S. House of Representatives
In 2000, Bill Clay announced he would retire after 32 years in Congress. His son, Lacy Clay, ran to take his place. Lacy Clay won the Democratic primary election with 62% of the votes. He then easily won the general election. He was reelected nine more times. He usually won his primary elections by a large margin. In general elections, he received about 73.5% of the votes on average.
For his first six terms, Clay represented the northern part of St. Louis. After the 2010 census, Missouri lost one congressional district. Clay's district then included all of St. Louis. In 2012, Clay won a primary election against Russ Carnahan.
In the 2018 Democratic primary, he won against Cori Bush and other challengers. He received 56.7% of the vote. In the general election, Clay defeated Robert Vroman with 80% of the vote.
In the 2020 Democratic primary, he lost to Cori Bush. She received 48% of the vote, while he received 45%. This ended his time in Congress.
Committee Roles
While in the U.S. House, Clay served on important committees:
- Committee on Financial Services
- He was the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development and Insurance.
- United States House Committee on Oversight and Reform
- He was also on the United States House Natural Resources Committee.
Group Memberships
Clay was part of several groups in Congress:
- Congressional Black Caucus
- Congressional Progressive Caucus
- United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus
- Congressional Arts Caucus
Capitol Art Dispute
In January 2017, Clay was involved in a disagreement with other lawmakers. The dispute was about a painting displayed in the Capitol building. The painting had won an art competition. It showed scenes related to the Ferguson unrest of 2014. This was a time of protests and discussions about police and community relations in Ferguson, Missouri.
Some Republican lawmakers removed the painting because they found it offensive. Clay put it back up. This happened several times. Clay believed the artist had the right to express their views. He asked, "How is it possible that we stand for freedom of speech and freedom of expression every place across this country, except the U.S. Capitol?" Eventually, the Architect of the Capitol decided the painting broke competition rules. It was permanently removed. Clay tried to challenge this decision in court, but his lawsuit was dismissed.
Gun Violence Legislation
In the 116th Congress, Clay introduced a bill called the Local Public Health and Safety Protection Act. This law aimed to give local communities more power. It would allow them to create their own rules to reduce gun violence. This would happen without needing permission from their state governments. The bill gained support from many groups that advocate for gun control.
Environmental Efforts
As a member of the House Natural Resources Committee, Clay supported renewable energy. He also worked on issues related to climate change. He helped create the Green New Deal. He worked to protect National Parks, seashores, wildlife refuges, forests, and rivers.
Clay was also a strong supporter of cleaning up dangerous waste sites. Many of these sites are in communities with a lot of minority residents. He helped secure funding to clean up three major sites in his district. This included money for the former St. Louis Army Ammunition Plant, the former Carter Carburetor plant, and the West Lake Landfill Superfund site.
Political Views
During his 17 years in the Missouri state legislature, Clay helped write Missouri's Hate Crimes Law. This law made sure that crimes motivated by hate against someone's gender, sexual orientation, or sexual identity were recognized as hate crimes.
In 2004, he was one of the U.S. Representatives who voted against counting the electoral votes from Ohio in the presidential election.
Clay voted against the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. This act was created to help the economy during a financial crisis.
He supported the Federal Reserve's program called quantitative easing. He believed it helped the economy recover after the 2008 financial crisis.
On December 18, 2019, Clay voted for both articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump.
Personal Life
Lacy Clay married his first wife, Ivie, in 1992. They later divorced in 2011.
Clay remarried in 2015 to Patricia Goncalves. They live in University City, in St Louis County, Missouri. He has two children, Carol and Will III.
He is a member of the Catholic faith.
See also
