Melrose's Clark Well Positioned For Speaker Of The House

MELROSE, MA — There's been some scuttlebutt this week about U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark's next steps — and they're a long way from the Melrose School Committee she started on.

The Melrose congresswoman has quickly risen through the ranks of national politics, so much so that she now occupies space on the shortlist of Democrats who may replace Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Axios reported Thursday.

Pelosi, 81, has suggested this could be her final term, and Axios said there's speculation she could accept an a position as ambassador to Italy or the Vatican that would move up the vote to succeed her. (Pelosi denied interest in such an ambassadorship.)

Clark, who turns 58 this weekend, was elected assistant speaker after the November elections. She is behind only three Democrats in Congress — all of who are in their 80s.

"I don’t know," Clark told Axios when asked if she's the best person to replace Pelosi, "but I can tell you that those are going to be tall stilettos to fill."

Axios reported on how Clark's ascent has been marked with making friends and allies, something that could serve her well when a new speaker is elected.

There have been eight speakers from Massachusetts, most recently Tip O'Neill in 1987. None have been women, and certainly none started at the Melrose School Committee.

Read the full Axios story here.

Mike Carraggi can be reached at mike.carraggi@patch.com. Follow him on Twitter @PatchCarraggi. Subscribe to Melrose Patch for free local news and alerts and like us on Facebook