Chaka Fattah, born Arthur Davenport (21 November 1956 in Philadelphia), has served as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1994, representing the 2nd congressional district of Pennsylvania (map), which includes North Philadelphia, West Philadelphia, a very small portion of Northeast Philadelphia and Cheltenham Township in Montgomery County. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 477 × 600 pixels Full resolution (1026 × 1290 pixel, file size: 156 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Chaka Fattah Metadata This file... The United States House of Representatives (or simply the House) is one of the two chambers of the United States Congress; the other is the Senate. ... Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Area  Ranked 33rd  - Total 46,055 sq mi (119,283 km²)  - Width 280 miles (455 km)  - Length 160 miles (255 km)  - % water 2. ... Pennsylvanias second district includes West Philadelphia, North Philadelphia, Chestnut Hill and Cheltenham Township in Montgomery County The district has an overwhelming Democratic majority. ... For the ecclesiastical office, see Incumbent (ecclesiastical). ... is the 4th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... Lucien Edward Blackwell (August 1, 1931 - January 24, 2003) was a United States Congressman who represented West Philadelphia and parts of Delaware County, Pennsylvania from 1991 to 1995. ... is the 325th day of the year (326th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Nickname: City of Brotherly Love, Philly, the Quaker City Motto: Philadelphia maneto (Let brotherly love continue) Location in Pennsylvania Coordinates: Country United States State Pennsylvania County Philadelphia Founded October 27, 1682 Incorporated October 25, 1701 Mayor John F. Street (D) Area    - City 369. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas  Politics Portal      Further information: Politics of the United States#Organization of American political parties The Democratic... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      Baptist is a term describing individuals belonging... is the 325th day of the year (326th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Nickname: Motto: Philadelphia maneto - Let brotherly love continue Location in Pennsylvania Coordinates: , Country United States Commonwealth Pennsylvania County Philadelphia Founded October 27, 1682 Incorporated October 25, 1701 Government  - Mayor John F. Street (D) Area  - City 369. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas  Politics Portal      Further information: Politics of the United States#Organization of American political parties The Democratic... The United States House of Representatives (or simply the House) is one of the two chambers of the United States Congress; the other is the Senate. ... Pennsylvanias second district includes West Philadelphia, North Philadelphia, Chestnut Hill and Cheltenham Township in Montgomery County The district has an overwhelming Democratic majority. ... Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Area  Ranked 33rd  - Total 46,055 sq mi (119,283 km²)  - Width 280 miles (455 km)  - Length 160 miles (255 km)  - % water 2. ... Map of Philadelphia County with North Philadelphia highlighted. ... West Philadelphia is a section of the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. ... Map of Philadelphia County with Northeast Highlighted. ... Cheltenham Township is a township near Philadelphia in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Public life

He served as a Representative in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1983 to 1988 and a State Senator from 1988 to 1994, defeating Republican incumbent Milton Street. He has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1994, representing the 2nd district in Pennsylvania after defeating Lucien Blackwell in the Democratic primary. The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. ... The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislative branch of Pennsylvania government. ... T. Milton Street T. Milton Street, Sr. ... Lucien Edward Blackwell (August 1, 1931 - January 24, 2003) was a United States Congressman who represented West Philadelphia and parts of Delaware County, Pennsylvania from 1991 to 1995. ...

Main article: Philadelphia mayoral election, 2007

In November of 2006, he declared his unsuccessful candidacy for Mayor of Philadelphia^[1], where two-term incumbent Mayor John F. Street was barred from re-election by term limits, amid pressure from Democratic voters to keep his Congressional seat, maintaining a Philadelphia representative on the powerful Appropriations Committee in the House. His candidacy announcement took place next to the recently completed Microsoft School of the Future in the city's Parkside neighborhood, emphasizing his campaign platform of being in favor of better educational opportunities for city youth. The general election for the next mayor of Philadelphia will take place on November 6, 2007. ... List of mayors of Philadelphia, arranged chronologically. ... John Franklin Street (born October 15, 1943) is the 97th Mayor of the City of Philadelphia. ... A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms a person may serve in a particular elected office. ... The Committee on Appropriations, or Appropriations Committee (often referred to as simply Appropriations, as in Hes on Appropriations) is a committee of the United States House of Representatives. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ...

Since emerging as a mayoral candidate, Fattah has come under fire from the Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) for his repeated calls to grant a new trial to Mumia Abu-Jamal.^[2] Abu-Jamal was convicted of the 1981 murder of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner,^[3] creating contention between people who believe he is guilty^[4] and those who believe he received an unfair trial and wrong conviction.^[5] The case is currently under appeal, after previous appeals resulted in a death sentence being thrown out but failed to overturn the conviction. He was also criticized for possibly unethical campaign spending, based on new campaign finance rules adopted by the city of Philadelphia after a high profile FBI investigation into corruption in the Street administration resulted in over 30 people pleading guilty or being convicted. The Fattah campaign defended itself, claiming that it had followed less restrictive federal rules in spending the money.^[6] A portion of the excess contributions was later returned to the exploratory committee from Fattah's mayoral fund, following a settlement with the city's Board of Ethics.^[6] The Fraternal Order of Police is a fraternal organization for sworn police officers. ... Mumia Abu-Jamal Mumia Abu-Jamal (born Wesley Cook April 24, 1954[1]) is an imprisoned US journalist and former cab driving Black Panther Party activist from Philadelphia best known for his conviction for murdering a police officer in 1981. ...

Congressman Fattah, who represents an overwhelmingly Democratic district, opposed the War in Iraq and supports Congressman John Murtha's call for troop withdrawal.^[7] He has publicly supported the “Bring Our Troops Home and Iraq Sovereignty Act” a bill that calls for bringing the troops home within six months and transitioning the Iraqis to self government. There have been three conflicts in the late 20th century and early 21st century called Gulf War, all of which refer to conflicts in the Persian Gulf region: Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988) (aka First Gulf War). ... John Patrick “Jack” Murtha, Jr. ...

Personal

Fattah's parents, David Fattah (born Russell Davenport) and Sister Falaka Fattah (born Frances Brown, also known as Queen Mother Falaka Fattah), are community activists in West Philadelphia, where they are building an "urban Boys' Town" through their organization, the House of Umoja.^[8]. Chaka Fattah has lived all his life in the city, attending Overbrook High School, the Community College of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania's Fels Institute of Government, where he received an MGA in 1986.^[9] This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... This article is about the private Ivy League university in Philadelphia. ... Fels Institute of Government at the University of Pennsylvania The Fels Institute of Government was founded in 1937 at the University of Pennsylvania. ... A Master of Arts is a postgraduate academic masters degree awarded by universities in North America and the United Kingdom (excluding the ancient universities of Scotland and Oxbridge. ...

He has four brothers.

He is the father of three daughters and one son. His two youngest daughters go to private school.

He has been married twice. His current wife is Renee Chenault-Fattah, a local Philadelphia television news broadcaster on WCAU-TV (NBC 10). This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... WCAU, channel 10, is the NBC owned-and-operated television station serving the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania market, with studios on the border between Philadelphia and Bala Cynwyd, and transmitter in the Roxborough neighborhood. ...

He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African Americans. Representative Fattah is a Prince Hall Freemason, Scottish Rite Alpha Phi Alpha (ΑΦΑ) is the first intercollegiate fraternity established by African Americans. ... The Greek alphabet is an alphabet that has been used to write the Greek language since about the 9th century BCE. It was the first alphabet in the narrow sense, that is, a writing system using a separate symbol for each vowel and consonant alike. ... The terms fraternity and sorority (from the Latin words and , meaning brother and sister respectively) may be used to describe many social and charitable organizations, for example the Lions Club, Epsilon Sigma Alpha, Rotary International, Optimist International, or the Shriners. ... African Americans, also known as Afro-Americans or black Americans, are an ethnic group in the United States of America whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Sub-Saharan and West Africa. ...

Election Results

• 2006 Race for US House
  • Chaka Fattah (D) (inc.), 89%
  • Michael Gessner (R), 9%
• 2004 Race for US House
  • Chaka Fattah (D) (inc.), 88%
  • Stewart Bolno (R), 12%
• 2002 Race for US House
  • Chaka Fattah (D) (inc.), 88%
  • Tom Dougherty (R), 12%
• 2000 Race for US House
  • Chaka Fattah (D) (inc.), 98%
  • Ken Krawchuk (Libertarian), 2%
• 1998 Race for US House
  • Chaka Fattah (D) (inc.), 86%
  • Anne Marie Mulligan (R), 14%
• 1996 Race for US House
  • Chaka Fattah (D) (inc.), 88%
  • Larry Murphy (R), 12%
• 1994 Race for US House
  • Chaka Fattah (D), 79%
  • Lawrence Watson (R), 18%

Ideological ratings

• Americans for Democratic Action — 90% for 2005.
• AFL-CIO — 92% for 2005.
• National Journal — Composite Liberal Score of 83% for 2005.^[10]

Americans For Democratic Action (ADA) was formed in January 1947, when Eleanor Roosevelt, John Kenneth Galbraith, Reinhold Niebuhr, Hubert Humphrey and 200 other activists. ... American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL-CIO, is a national trade union center, the largest federation of unions in the United States, made up of 54 national and international unions (including Canadian), together representing more than 10 million workers. ... National Journal is a weekly magazine that provides Insight for Insiders through nonpartisan reporting on the current political environment as well as emerging political and policy trends. ...

References

External links

• U.S. Congressman Chaka Fattah Official House site
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Federal Election Commission — Chaka Fattah campaign finance reports and data
• On the Issues — Chaka Fattah issue positions and quotes
• OpenSecrets.org — Chaka Fattah campaign contributions
• Project Vote Smart — Representative Chaka Fattah (PA) profile
• SourceWatch Congresspedia — Chaka Fattah profile
• Washington Post — Congress Votes Database: Chaka Fattah voting record
• Fattah for Mayor official campaign site
• Profile on thenextmayor.com
• [1] freemasonry