Political party Democratic Party Democratic Party Role American Politician | Name Obie Patterson Religion Baptist | |
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Constituency Prince George's County, MD - District 8 Born March 7, 1938 (age 86)
Lancaster, South Carolina, United States ( 1938-03-07 ) Residence Fort Washington, Maryland, United States Education Johnson C. Smith University, University of Florida | ||
Obie Patterson is an American politician who currently represents Prince George's County, District 8 within the Prince George's County Council, since December 6, 2010. He previously represented District 26 in the Maryland House of Delegates and is a past chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland. Mr. Patterson also serves on the following committees and board(s): Vice-Chair, Planning, Zoning and Economic Development Committee, 2012- (chair, 2011–12). Vice-Chair, Rules and General Assembly Committee, 2012-. Member, Transportation, Housing and the Environment Committee, 2011-. Member, Public Safety and Fiscal Management Committee, 2011–12. Member, Board of Health, Prince George’s County, 2010-. Member, Housing Commission, Gainesville, Florida, 1970.
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Background
Born in Lancaster, South Carolina, March 7, 1938. Johnson C. Smith University, Charlotte, North Carolina, B.S. (biology), 1965; University of Florida, M.A. (public administration), 1971. Former research biologist, management analyst, equal employment opportunity specialist, and program analyst, U.S. Department of Agriculture. Board of Trustees, Johnson C. Smith University, 1994-. Polemarch, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., 1993-94. Member, Pi Sigma Alpha aka the National Political Science Honor Society. Life member, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Member, Roscoe C. Cartwright Prince Hall Masons, Lodge #129. President, Apple Grove-Squire Woods Civic Association, 1993-94. Board of Directors, Prince George's Volunteer Action Center. Chair, Prince George's County African-American Democratic Club. Board of Trustees, Johnson C. Smith University (chair, student affairs committee). Past president, National Alumni Association, Johnson C. Smith University. Former adjunct faculty, Bowie State University and Prince George's Community College. Award, United Negro College Fund. Award for Outstanding Service in Politics, Prince George's County Educators' Association, 1999. Board of Trustees, Fort Foote Baptist Church, Fort Washington. Three children; two grandchildren. His district has the highest Maryland Piggyback income county tax in the State at 3.2% in addition to 4.75% income tax.
Political career
Patterson was a member of House of Delegates from January 11, 1995 to January 10, 2007. He has served as: Assistant Majority Leader, 2006-07. Member, Commerce and Government Matters Committee, 1995–98 (vice-chair, transportation subcommittee, 1995–98); Special Committee on Rail Mergers, 1997; Ways and Means Committee, 1999–2007 (education subcommittee, 1999–2000; tax & revenue subcommittee, 2001–03; chair, election law subcommittee, 2003–07); Joint Committee on Protocol, 1999–2007; Joint Committee on the Selection of the State Treasurer, 2003. Deputy Majority Whip, 2003-05. Member, Joint Committee on Children, Youth, and Families, 2003–07; Rules and Executive Nominations Committee, 2004-07. Chair, County Affairs Committee, Prince George's County Delegation, 1999–2007. During his entire tenure in the General Assembly, Patterson was a member of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland (formerly Maryland Legislative Black Caucus, and was its treasurer from 1998 to 2002 and its chairman from 2002 to 2004).
As Chair of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland (LBCM)
In 2002, Council Member Patterson was elected Chair of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland (LBCM), where he had previously served as its Treasurer. As Chair of the LBCM, he commissioned the Justice Policy Institute to study the disproportionate number of African Americans incarcerated in the Maryland corrections system for nonviolent drug offenses. This led him to introduce legislation to provide treatment and training for nonviolent drug offenders. That legislation was signed into law with a $3-million pilot program, with $1.6 million allocated to Prince George’s County.