A member of the Democratic Party, she has been politically active in Harlem since the late 1990s and is currently the state-senator for New York's 30th State Senate district.

[7] Cleare ran for New York City Council to represent District 9 in 2017, losing to her old boss Perkins.

[12] Cleare was a tenant organizer and then the Chair of the New York City Coalition to End Lead Poisoning.

[14] Cleare’s advocacy helped create the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Bill that passed in the New York City Council in 2004.

[16] Cleare’s platform for her state senate election included the discontinuation of fossil fuels for the Metropolitan Transit Authority and the protection of green spaces.