Pete Stark

Who is Pete Stark?

Fortney Hillman "Pete" Stark, Jr. is an American politician who was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1973 to 2013. A Democrat from California, Stark's district—California's 13th congressional district during his last two decades in Congress—was in southwestern Alameda County and included Alameda, Union City, Hayward, Newark, San Leandro, San Lorenzo, and Fremont, as well as parts of Oakland and Pleasanton. At the time he left office in 2013, he was the fifth most senior Representative, as well as sixth most senior member of Congress overall. He was also the dean of California's 55-member Congressional delegation, and the only open atheist in Congress.

Prior to his service to the 13th district, Stark represented the 8th and 9th congressional districts in California. After 2010 redistricting, Stark campaigned for the 15th district seat in 2012, narrowly finished first in the primary but lost in the general election to fellow Democrat Eric Swalwell. He was the second-longest serving U.S. Congressman, after Jack Brooks, to lose a general election.