In 2001, Clark moved to Melrose, where she was elected to the Melrose School Committee, taking her seat in January 2002.[4] Clark first ran for the Massachusetts Senate in 2004 but lost to Republican incumbent Richard Tisei.[6][7] In January 2005, she was unanimously elected chairwoman of the Melrose School Committee.[8] In 2006, she decided to run for the 32nd Middlesex seat in the Massachusetts House of Representatives when incumbent Mike Festa began a run for Middlesex district attorney but withdrew after he dropped out of the race.[9]