Candidate has long history on unpaid bills

Jeffrey A. Clark, the independent candidate running against Democratic incumbent Tom Perriello and GOP nominee Robert Hurt, has left a trail of unpaid medical bills and other debt over the past two decades, court records show.

Clark, a conservative Tea Party member from Danville, has made his staunch opposition to the federal government's debt a cornerstone of his campaign for Congress.

Yet Clark says his financial difficulties do not undermine his campaign's platform.

The federal government, in his view, has been living beyond its means and leaving the bill for future generations of taxpayers.

He and his family, on the other hand, have lived a modest, middle-class life and scraped by as best they could, Clark said. The bulk of their debt was the result of expensive medical procedures, such as back and heart surgery.

"I don't think this changes our [campaign's] message at all," he said. "Yes, we have debt. But we didn't buy a huge house. My wife doesn't wear expensive clothes. We've worked two jobs. I run two small businesses. My wife and I have been married for 25 years and raised four children. We've struggled, like a lot of couples with children struggle."

Clark said he was unsure how much money he owes. He has spent about $2,500 out of his own pocket on his campaign for Congress.

In 1993, Clark and his wife, Gerri, filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy while living in Greensboro, N.C. According to the filing, the couple owed at least three physicians' offices for unpaid bills, the Greensboro Public Library for an unpaid fine, the City of Portsmouth for unpaid personal property tax on a 1984 Honda and Grand Furniture Discount Stores of Norfolk for several pieces of furniture.

"Like many Americans, we filed for bankruptcy after a series of events that was just unavoidable," Clark said. "It wasn't something we wanted to do. It was something we had to do to survive."

They sought bankruptcy protection because Clark had just been laid off from his job and suddenly needed back surgery for a ruptured disc, as well as an appendectomy.

"Our intent was to try and get out from under [the debts]," he said. "We just couldn't do it."

Clark had been working as a cab driver, at Replacements - a Greensboro-based retailer of China, silverware and glassware - and elsewhere. His wife had taken a part-time job at McDonald's, according to court records.

Under the court-approved bankruptcy plan, the Clarks were to make scheduled payments to their creditors. However, they failed to adhere to the schedule and their financial challenges continued.

In 2000, Clark was cited in Virginia Beach General District Court for nonpayment of vehicle repairs after a car accident. Owing roughly $900, the court approved garnishing Clark's wages from his job at the time at the Best Western Airport Inn in Sandston.

The following year, Sentara Hospitals won a claim in Norfolk General District Court against the Clarks for nonpayment of medical expenses totaling more than $4,500, according to court records. Clark's wages were garnished in this case, as well.

Maryview Medical Center of Portsmouth also sought judgment in 2000 against Clark for more than $10,000 in medical expenses, according to Chesapeake General District Court.

More recently, in March, a debt collection agency called LVNV Funding won a judgment in Pittsylvania County General District Court against Clark's wife for $1,255 plus $53 costs and 6 percent interest.

The biggest recent bill, however, comes from a $70,000 heart operation Clark underwent in April at Duke University Hospital. Clark, who says he is in good health now, has managed to negotiate the procedure's bill down to around $36,000.

Clark canceled his health insurance two-and-a-half years ago, he said, as the economy began to take its toll on his Danville-based water testing company and his Greensboro-based property inspection firm - two industries closely tied to the struggling housing market.

Clark's debt problems, he said, help him understand the challenges facing many Americans struggling through the economic downturn.

"There are thousands of Americans across the country that are going through the exact same thing," Clark said. "We've been doing whatever we can to get by and keep the doors open at our two small businesses."

Clark said he has worked to pay his bills, and court records show that Clark and his wife have gotten current on a number of their debts.

He added that filing for bankruptcy or being in debt for medical expenses should not factor into his ability to serve in Congress.

"I've never claimed to be more than an average guy," Clark said. "I feel sorry for those political elites who think this should ... exclude us. I'm not sure that's how our founders envisioned the political process working."

Plus, Clark added, he is in good company.

"Thomas Jefferson filed for bankruptcy," he pointed out.

Neither Perriello nor Hurt has ever filed for bankruptcy or been sued for nonpayment of bills, according to interviews with their campaigns and a search of court records.

According to Perriello's spokeswoman, Jessica Barba, the freshman Democrat only owes money on his student loans and on his mortgage for his house in Ivy.

Hurt, a state senator and lawyer from Chatham, also has real estate debt, but nothing else.

The campaigns of both Perriello and Hurt declined to comment on Clark's financial challenges.

Isaac Wood, a House race expert at the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, said the information about Clark's finances might undermine his candidacy, though he is not expected to play a tremendous factor in the closely watched race.

"The bottom line is that Clark just doesn't have much support to lose," Wood said. "These types of troubles are not uncommon with first-time candidates who have never been vetted by anybody. It could prove problematic for him, though, in that it further de-legitimizes him. As an independent candidate you need every ounce of credibility and responsibility you can muster and this clearly erodes some of that."

It is hardly unusual for someone to face financial challenges, Wood said, but it probably won't help Clark much at the ballot box.

"It is true that some may see this as simply a man who is down on his luck as many are during this recession," he said. "The length of his history, however, suggests a pattern of behavior which voters may be unwilling to dismiss as a 'sign of the times.' In the end, voters want candidates that are just like them, only better. Many people will have empathy for Clark and his situation, but it is a long road between feeling empathy towards someone and casting your vote for them."