David Clarenbach

David E. Clarenbach
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 78th district
In office January 1975 – January 1993
Succeeded by	Tammy Baldwin
Personal details
Born	September 26, 1953 (1953-09-26) (age 58) St. Louis, Missouri
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	University of Wisconsin, Madison

David E. Clarenbach (born September 26, 1953) is a Wisconsin Democratic politician who served nine terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly. He represented the 78th Assembly District in Madison from 1975 to 1993.

He is the son of National Organization for Women co-founder Kathryn F. Clarenbach and was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He was educated in Madison public schools, and studied politics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison from 1971 to 1976.

He was elected to the Dane County Board of Supervisors in 1972, at age 18. In 1974, he was elected a Madison alderman, before being elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly that same year at the age of 21. In 1983 he was elected Speaker pro tempore of the Assembly.^[1] His legislative papers are on deposit with the Wisconsin Historical Society.^[2]

Clarenbach is now openly gay, although he was not open during his political career in Madison. He told a reporter in 2001, "It was a different era. There were no openly gay elected officials... Even in the liberal stronghold of Madison, it would have done more than raise eyebrows. It would’ve hampered a person’s electability. Yet I think it’s safe to say that every member of the Legislature and every member of the Capitol press corps knew I was gay.... The general consensus was not to intrude into one’s personal life." He served as a mentor for fellow gay Assemblyman Tim Carpenter of Milwaukee.^[3]

Clarenbach did not seek re-election in 1992 but ran for Congress in Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district. In the Democratic primary election held on September 8, Clarenbach faced Ada E. Deer and lost with 31,961 votes (40.1%) to Deer's 47,777 (59.9%). Deer went on to lose to incumbent Republican Scott L. Klug in the general election.

He was succeeded in the assembly by Tammy Baldwin, who ran as the first openly gay legislative candidate in Wisconsin history.^[4] After three terms, Baldwin vacated the seat to mount a successful bid for Congress in 1998 and was succeeded by Mark Pocan who, like Clarenbach and Baldwin, is gay and is a former member of the Dane County Board of Supervisors. Pocan remains in that position through 2010.

Clarenbach served as executive director of the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund from 1996 to 1997.^[5] He now works as a political consultant and lives in Madison, Wisconsin.

References

1. ^ "Clarenbach, David E." Dictionary of Wisconsin History
2. ^ "David E. Clarenbach papers, 1974-1992"
3. ^ Chandler, Kurt. "Out: Politician Tim Carpenter goes on the record about his sexuality." Milwaukee Magazine 8/1/2001
4. ^ "Madison's Tammy Baldwin Running For State Assembly Seat". The Wisconsin Light. 1992-06-25. Retrieved 2009-08-02.
5. ^ Rimmerman, Craig A. From Identity to Politics: The Lesbian and Gay Movements in the United States Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2002; p. 42

Persondata
Name	Clarenbach, David
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	September 26, 1953
Place of birth	St. Louis, Missouri
Date of death
Place of death