C. Virginia Fields

Clara Virginia Fields
C. Virginia Fields in 2015
25th Borough President of Manhattan
In office January 1, 1998 – December 31, 2005
Preceded by	Ruth Messinger
Succeeded by	Scott M. Stringer
Personal details
Born	August 6, 1945 (1945-08-06) (age 71) Birmingham, Alabama
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Henry Fields (1971–1985; divorced)
Alma mater	Knoxville College (1967) Indiana University (1969)

C. Virginia Fields (born August 6, 1945) is the former Borough President of Manhattan, elected in 1997 and reelected in 2001. Her second term expired at the end of 2005.

Clara Virginia Clark was born in Birmingham, Alabama. She received a B.A. in sociology from Knoxville College in Tennessee in 1967 and an M.S.W. from Indiana University Bloomington in 1969. She married Henry Fields in 1971; they divorced in 1985.

In 1971, she moved to New York City and became a social worker. In the late 1970s and 1980s she worked in a variety of administrative positions in the social services field, while also becoming involved in community politics.

Fields is well known for her activism during the height of the civil rights movement in which she participated in a number of protests and marches, thus beginning her foray into social and political advocacy.

Fields is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, and the Links Incorporated.

In 1989, Fields was elected to the New York City Council. In 1997, Fields was elected Manhattan Borough President, replacing Ruth Messinger who ran for Mayor, unsuccessfully, against Rudy Giuliani. Fields received acclaim for her support of cultural organizations such as the New York Shakespeare Festival and the West Side Arts Coalition. She was in office during the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Some community groups throughout Manhattan, however, have a low opinion of Ms. Fields' record. They argue that she would not listen to community concerns regarding the noisy nightclubs and promoted outsized and ill-advised development projects. In 1999, Fields supported using eminent domain to seize a family-owned manufacturing plant in Harlem to be replaced by a Costco store.