The Region : Riverside Elects First Black to Council

Jack B. Clarke Sr. became the first black ever elected to the Riverside City Council, beating Bud Stone by 2,185 votes, or 56.9%, to Stone’s 1,653 votes, or 43.1%. “This whole thing is simply tremendous,” Clarke told supporters at his home as he declared victory. The race was for the Second Ward, which includes the affluent neighborhoods behind the University of California, Riverside, and Canyon Crest, as well as the poorer Eastside, which has a heavy concentration of minorities.