Civil rights

Clay was involved in the Civil rights movement and participated in marches led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the 1960s. He was award the Operation Breadbasket Outstanding Activist Award by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1970.^[2] He worked as the public relations director for the United Viscounts, a civil rights organization in Gary, Indiana.^[4][5]

Indiana Senate

Local politics

In 1978, Clay filed to run for a seat on the Lake County, Indiana council from the 4th district. He defeated incumbent Councilor Frank Perry in the Democratic primary and won in the general election without opposition.^{[20][21][22][23]} He won reelection against Republican nominee Joseph Stojakovich in the 1982 election.^[24] During his tenure on the council Clay served as president.^[25]

On January 6, 1984, Clay announced that he would run for the Democratic nomination for Lake County Recorder to succeed William Bielski Jr., who was term-limited.^[26] He won the Democratic nomination against ten other candidates which included Johnny McWilliams, who had the support of Gary Mayor Richard G. Hatcher, Leonard Bielski, the brother of the incumbent recorder, and Mathias A. Kerger, a former member of the state senate.^[27][28] He defeated Republican nominee Alan L. Banister in the general election.^[29] He was the first black person elected countywide in Lake County.^[30] He resigned from the county council on December 30, 1984, to become county recorder.^[31]

County Commission

Democratic politics

During the 1988 Democratic presidential primaries Clay ran as a delegate for Jesse Jackson despite attempts made by former Mayor Hatch and Jackson's presidential campaign to prevent them from appearing on the ballot.^[62] Clay won election as a delegate, but the Democratic National Committee's credentials committee selected Hatcher, who was the vice-chair of Jackson's campaign, to go to the convention instead of Clay while Barnes was sent to the convention instead of the Jackson-supported Carlos Tolliver.^[63][64] However, another decision was made where Barnes, Clay, Hatcher, and Tolliver would all attend the convention with half-voting power.^[65]

Clay was an elector for Al Gore during the 2000 presidential election.^[66] He endorsed Barack Obama during the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries, campaigned for him in South Carolina,^[67] and served as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention.^[68] Clay called for Obama to select U.S. Senator Evan Bayh as his running mate.^[69]

Clay ran to serve as chair of the Gary Democratic Precinct Organization and won on March 13, 1993, after defeating incumbent chair Richard Comer, who also served as Deputy Mayor.^[70][71][72] He was reelected in 1997.^[73] Stephen Stiglich, the chair of the Lake County Democratic Party since 1997, sought reelection in 2005, but the Democratic State Central Committee voted to make Clay chair on April 19.^[74][75] King, who supported Stiglich, left the Democratic Party and became an independent after Clay's selection.^[76] During the 2007 mayoral election Karen Freeman-Wilson requested Dan Parker, chair of the Indiana Democratic Party, to suspend Clay's chairmanship, but Parker said that he did not have that power and Clay refused to step down.^[77] Clay ran for reelection as chair, but was defeated by Thomas McDermott Jr. on March 7, 2009.^[78]

Mayor

Clay supported Vernon Smith during the 2000 mayoral election.^[79] Clay was a candidate in the 2003 mayoral election, but withdrew from the election.^[80] He stated that there were too many candidates in the race and that the divided opposition would allow King to win renomination.^[81] King won reelection.^[82]

King resigned on March 23, 2006, and deputy mayor Dozier Allen Jr. replaced him as acting mayor. A Democratic caucus was held to select a person to serve the remainder of King's term. Clay announced his campaign on March 27, and defeated Allen and John Hall.^[83][84][85] Clay continued running for reelection in the concurrent commissioner election as he would have more influence over the selection of his replacement through a caucus selection.^[86] Calumet Township board member Roosevelt Allen Jr. defeated Clay in the primary.^[87][88]

In 2007, Clay won the Democratic primary against multiple candidates, including Freeman-Wilson, and defeated Republican nominee Charles Smith Jr. and write-in candidate Eddie Tarver in the general election.^[89][90] Clay initially sought reelection in 2011, but withdrew on April 8, 2011, after being diagnosed with prostate cancer. He endorsed Freeman-Wilson although name remained on the Democratic primary ballot. Freeman-Wilson was elected to succeed him.^[91][80][92]

Morgan Quitno Press listed Gary as the tenth most dangerous city in the United States during Clay's tenure.^[93] Clay served as head of the Gary Sanitary District.^[94] He requested that Gary receive $400 million of the $5 billion allotted to Indiana by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.^[95]

Amendments

The state senate voted thirty-four to sixteen, with Clay in favor, against ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment in 1973.^[100] In 1975, Clay introduced a resolution in the state senate calling for the United States Congress to pass an amendment to the United States Constitution to make the president elected through the popular vote instead of through the electoral college.^[101]

Crime and legal

The state senate voted forty to nine, with Clay against, in favor of maintaining the death penalty.^[102] In 1973, the state senate voted thirty-one to eighteen, with Clay against, in favor of legislation to allow local, county, and state police access to certain types of wire taps.^[103] Clay asked for George Phend, the Superintendent of Indiana State Reformatory, to allow prisoners to kiss their wives citing results from the policy at the prison in Terre Haute, Indiana where it helped rehabilitation and lowered homosexuality.^[104][105] Clay opposed a resolution by Senator Marlin McDaniel which would have the state legislature be put on record as opposing amnesty for people involved in prison disturbances.^[106] Clay attempted to ban gun shows in Lake County and the sale of guns on county property.^[107]

Civil rights

Clay opposed desegregation busing.^[108] Clay introduced legislation to recognize a state holiday in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1974.^[109]