Kevin Mark Clarke is a perennial candidate for public office in Toronto. For several years, he was also one of the most prominent homeless persons in the city.
He first campaigned for the the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 1995 general election, challenging New Democratic Party Premier Bob Rae in York South. He received 170 votes, finishing seventh in a field of nine candidates. He campaigned for York South again in 1996 after Rae retired from the legislature, and finished last in a field of six candidates with 70 votes. The winner was Gerard Kennedy of the Ontario Liberal Party. During the 1995 election, Clarke vowed to oppose the "pimps" of government who "live off the avails of people" (Toronto Star, 5 June 1995).
He became homeless in 1998, after his auto business failed. For the next seven years, he sang and preached on the streets of Toronto wearing long, flowing robes. He was actively involved in public affairs, and was a member of the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee. Clarke finally found housing again in 2005.[1]
He campaigned for the Canadian House of Commons in the 1997 federal election, and finished sixth out of eight candidates in Broadview—Greenwood with 211 votes. The winner was Dennis Mills of the Liberal Party of Canada. During this election, Clarke described himself as a salesman and a businessman.
Clarke campaigned for Mayor of Toronto in the 2000 and 2003 municipal elections, and ran to the Toronto City Council in by-elections held in 1998 and 2001. His primary issues were street safety and water safety, though he also emphasized anti-drug policies. He ran the 2001 campaign out of a homeless shelter that he used every night.[2]