Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.) is the new chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus.
The members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) recently voted a former North Carolina jurist as its leader for the 114th Congress.
Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.) was voted to lead the Congressional Black Caucus on Nov. 19. Butterfield, who was first elected to Congress in a special election in July 2004, is known on Capitol Hill to be a strong advocate for supporting broadband expansion in rural and minority areas and for quality health insurance access for all Americans.
“I am happy to pass the chairman’s gavel to my friend and colleague, Rep. Butterfield,” outgoing CBC Chair Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) said. “He has dedicated his life and career to advancing the priorities of the disenfranchised and overlooked, both in his home state of North Carolina as well as here on the Hill. I congratulate him on his election, and I look forward to supporting him in his new capacity as he continues to move our caucus forward.”
Butterfield is the 24th elected chair of the organization and will officially begin his duties on Jan. 6, 2015, when the 114th Congress is sworn in. Butterfield, who has spent most of his public career as a jurist, said that he is humbled by his election.
“I’m moved by the unwavering support the CBC has shown me throughout the years,” he said. “Each year they’ve continued to elect me to senior positions within the caucus, solidifying their confidence in me to steer and now lead the conscience of the Congress as chair. I do not take their endorsement lightly.”
A native of Wilson, N.C., Butterfield is a graduate of North Carolina Central University and its law school. He served as a Resident Superior Court Judge for the First Judicial Division, presiding over civil and criminal courts in 46 counties.
In February 2001, then Gov. Mike Easley (D) appointed Butterfield as an associate justice on the North Carolina Supreme Court. Butterfield authored opinions on such issues as the application of capital punishment, judicial sentencing procedures and eminent domain.
Butterfield lost his election bid to the court in November 2002, and he resumed his judicial career as a Superior Court trial judge.
Butterfield will have to work with a strongly partisan Republican House of Representatives and President Obama, who is in the last two years of his term. Nevertheless, he feels there are opportunities for the CBC.
“The new Congress provides a fresh start to address the issues that are important to all of us,” Butterfield said. “Members of the CBC come from every region of the country. While we each have our own priorities, we speak with a singular, powerful voice in our fight to deliver on the expectations of Americans—to have a government that works for all of us.”
In addition to Butterfield, Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.) was elected as first vice chair, Rep. Andre Carson (D-Ind.) as second vice chair, Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) as secretary and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) as whip. Butterfield and the elected officers will lead 45 CBC members, the largest number in the organization’s history.
Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) was elected as co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), a former CBC Chair, was elected whip and Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-Texas) got the nod for vice chair and liaison to the CBC. Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), a former CBC Chair, was re-elected as the House Democratic Caucus Assistant Democratic Leader.