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The Reverend 'Emanuel Cleaver II' (born October 26, 1944) is a United Methodist pastor and a Democratic politician from the state of Missouri. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in November 2004 to represent (map), which primarily consists of the Kansas City-Jackson County metro area.
Cleaver took his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives at the start of the 109th Congress on January 4, 2005. Born in Waxahachie, Texas, Cleaver grew up in public housing in Wichita Falls, Texas. After his graduation from Prairie View A&M University, Cleaver moved to Kansas City, Missouri. He founded a branch of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Kansas City and received a Master of Divinity degree from St. Paul School of Theology. Cleaver served a city councilman in Kansas City from 1979 to 1991, and was the mayor of Kansas City, Missouri for two terms, from 1991 until 1999. He was the first African American mayor of that city.
During the last days of his tenure as Mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, Reverend Cleaver agreed to an international visit to London, UK. On the invitation of UK NGO Operation Black Vote he assisted in campaigning for increased electoral participation in the elections for the Mayor of London and the London Assembly. His visit culminated in a keynote speech at Westminster City Hall alongside figures including Ken Livingstone, Simon Hughes and Lee Jasper.
For ten years, the Fifth Congressional District of Missouri had been represented in the U.S. House by Democrat Karen McCarthy, who announced in late 2003 that she would not be seeking another term. Despite having served in city government for 20 years, including eight years as mayor, Cleaver posted weak numbers in the primary and general elections. Cleaver defeated political neophyte and former Clinton Administration official Jamie Metzl in the Democratic primary by 60% to 40%. In the general election, Republican Jeanne Patterson used her own fortune to fund her candidacy, and made the race far more competitive than many expected. The Fifth District is heavily Democratic (McCarthy won 65% of the vote in 2002), and Cleaver is arguably the best-known politician in Kansas City, but Cleaver's 55% victory was considered weak by most observers.
Cleaver is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, the first intercollegiate Greek-letter organization established for African Americans.

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External links

External links

★ U.S. Congressman Emanuel Cleaver 'official site'

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★ Federal Election Commission — Emanuel Cleaver II campaign finance reports and data

★ On the Issues — Emanuel Cleaver issue positions and quotes

★ OpenSecrets.org — Emanuel Cleaver campaign contributions

★ Project Vote Smart — Representative Emanuel Cleaver II (MO) profile

★ SourceWatch Congresspedia — Emanuel Cleaver profile

★ Washington Post — Congress Votes Database: Emanuel Cleaver voting record