Charles Blake
Charles Blake (Democrat) is a former member of the Arkansas House of Representatives, representing District 36 from 2015 to 2019. He resigned his seat on May 16, 2019, to take a job with Little Rock's mayor.[1]
Blake served as state House minority leader in 2019.
Biography
Mr. Blake graduated from Grinnell College with a bachelor's degree in political science and government in 2005. In his career, Blake served in a variety of positions with CenArk Transportation LLC, including director of finance, director of advancement, and president.[2] Blake resigned from his position in the Arkansas Legislature in May of 2019.[3]
Committee assignments
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Arkansas committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Aging, Children and Youth, Legislative and Military Affairs |
| • Judiciary |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Blake served on the following committees:
| Arkansas committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Advanced Communications and Information Technology |
| • City, County and Local Affairs |
| • Public Transportation |
| • Advanced Communications and Information Technology |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2018
General election
The general election was canceled. Incumbent Charles Blake won election in the general election for Arkansas House of Representatives District 36.
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Arkansas House of Representatives District 36
Incumbent Charles Blake defeated Darrell Stephens in the Democratic primary for Arkansas House of Representatives District 36 on May 22, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Charles Blake | 61.7 | 1,670 |
 | Darrell Stephens | 38.3 | 1,036 | |
| Total votes: 2,706 | |||
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2016
Ballotpedia's analysis revealed that only 42 of the 100 seats up for election in 2016 involved competition between Democrats and Republicans. This made it numerically impossible for Democrats to take control of either Arkansas legislative chamber in 2016.
The reason for the low competition was that candidates were in safe districts for their parties. Between 1972 and 2014, an upward trend in uncontested state legislative elections occurred.
The Democratic Party of Arkansas focused its 2016 efforts on the state’s House of Representatives. Without the numbers to win the state Senate, H.L. Moody, communications director for the Democratic Party of Arkansas, told Ballotpedia that the party’s goal was to “start building back where we can,” beginning with the House.
Ballotpedia spoke to political analyst Richard Winger, who said that the early primary deadline for the 2016 elections was a possible factor as well, making it difficult for Democrats to recruit candidates early.
The primary election was held on March 1, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing period began at noon local time on November 2, 2015, and ended at noon local time on November 9, 2015.[4]
Incumbent Charles Blake ran unopposed in the Arkansas House of Representatives District 36 general election.[5]
| Arkansas House of Representatives, District 36 General Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic |  Charles Blake Incumbent (unopposed) | |
| Source: Arkansas Secretary of State | ||
Incumbent Charles Blake ran unopposed in the Arkansas House of Representatives District 36 Democratic Primary.[6][7]
| Arkansas House of Representatives, District 36 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Charles Blake Incumbent (unopposed) | |
2014
Elections for the Arkansas House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 20, 2014; a runoff election took place where necessary on June 10, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 3, 2014. Charles Blake defeated Sheena Lewis and Rodney Hall in the Democratic primary and was unchallenged in the general election.[8][9]
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Charles Blake |
52.3% | 1,154 |
| Sheena Lewis | 42.3% | 932 |
| Rodney Hall | 5.4% | 119 |
| Total Votes | 2,205 | |
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Arkansas scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2019
In 2019, the Arkansas State Legislature was in session from January 14 through April 24.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues.
- Legislators are scored on whether their votes on bills deliver "more economic freedom for all Arkansans."
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to "promoting, protecting, and strengthening traditional family values."
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, the Arkansas State Legislature was in session from February 12 through March 12. The legislature held a special session from March 13 to March 15.
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2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the 91st Arkansas State Legislature was in session from January 9 through May 1. The Legislature held a special session from May 1 to May 3.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the 90th Arkansas State Legislature was in session from April 13 through May 9. The Legislature held a three-day special session from April 6 to April 8 over healthcare. The Legislature held a second special session from May 19 to May 23 over transportation.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the 90th Arkansas State Legislature was in session from January 12 through April 2.
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See also
- Arkansas State Legislature
- Arkansas House of Representatives
- Arkansas House Committees
- Arkansas state legislative districts
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Charles Blake on Twitter
- Campaign contributions via OpenSecrets
Footnotes
- ↑ Arkansas Democrat Gazette, "Governor sets special election for House seat vacated by lawmaker who resigned to work with Little Rock mayor," May 30, 2019
- ↑ Vote Smart, "Charles Blake Bio," accessed March 22, 2020
- ↑ Arkansas Times, "Charles Blake resigning from House to pursue ‘other career opportunities,’ perhaps mayor’s staff," accessed March 22, 2020
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "2016 Election Dates," accessed November 17, 2015
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "2016 General Election and Nonpartisan Runoff Election," accessed November 23, 2016
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Candidate Information," accessed July 25, 2016
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "2016 Primary Election Results," accessed April 19, 2016
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Candidate Information," accessed March 5, 2014
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Official primary election results," accessed June 26, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Darrin Williams (D) |
Arkansas House District 36 2015–2019 |
Succeeded by Denise Ennett (D) |
