Fortney Hillman Stark Jr.
From Philosopedia
Fortney Hillman (Pete) Stark Jr. (11 November 1931 - )
Stark, a Democrat and Representative of the State of California, has served in Congress since 1973. For the 13th Congressional District, he represents the area stretching along the east side of the San Francisco Bay from Alameda to Fremont.
He is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with a degree in engineering and the University of California, Berkeley, with a Master's degree in Business Administration (MBA).
In 1963, he founded Security National Bank in Walnut Creek. The bank grew from a small storefront operation to a $100 million financial institution with branches in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. Stark sold his interest in the bank after his election to Congress.
Before his business career, Stark served in the U.S. Air Force. His other civic activities have included being a director of Common Cause; Chairman, Board of Trustees, Starr King School of Ministry; Board Member, Housing Development Corporation; Board Member, Council for Civic Unity, and many others.
For his stand against our being in Iraq and telling atheists that he does not believe in a supreme being, Stark will receive the 2008 Humanist of the Year award in June 2008 by the 17th World Humanist Congress of the International Humanist and Ethical Union. Writing for the a survey by the Secular Coalition for America, Stark said,
- "like our nation's founders, I strongly support the separation of church and state. I look forward to working with the Secular Coalition to stop the promotion of narrow religious beliefs in science, marriage contracts, the military, and the provision of social services."
Fred Edwords, a spokesman for the American Humanist Association, told the Los Angeles Times that he hopes Stark's identification will end discrimination against atheists.
"So often throughout American history, people who are nontheistic or don't believe in a supreme being can't get elected to public office or, if they inform the public of their view, they don't get re-elected," Edwords said. "We're trying to increase the acceptance of nontheists as every bit as American as everybody else."
Stark has four daughters, three sons, and eight grandchildren. He is married to Deborah Roderick Stark of San Lorenzo and is a Unitarian and an atheist.
