Jerry M. Patterson

Jerry Mumford Patterson (born October 25, 1934) is an American lawyer in California and the District of Columbia, educator and politician, who was a United States Representative from California.

Jerry M. Patterson
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 38th district
In office January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1985
Preceded by	George Brown, Jr.
Succeeded by	Bob Dornan
Mayor of Santa Ana, California
In office 1973–1975
City Attorney
In office 1973–1997
Constituency	Placentia (1973-1975) Cypress (1987-1989) Dana Point (1989-1991) Lake Forest (1991-1997)
Member of the Santa Ana City Council
In office 1969–1973
Personal details
Born	Jerry Mumford Patterson October 25, 1934 El Paso, Texas
Political party	Democratic
Education	California State University, Long Beach (BA) University of California, Los Angeles (JD)
Profession	lawyer
Military service
Branch/service	United States Coast Guard
Years of service	1953-1957

Early life, education, military service

Born in El Paso, Texas, Patterson graduated from Tucson High School in Tucson, Arizona in 1952. He served in the United States Coast Guard from 1953 to 1957. Patterson received his BA from California State University, Long Beach in 1960. He completed 30 units of graduate work at the University of Southern California School of Public Administration in 1961 to 1963, then went on to UCLA School of Law where he earned his law degree in 1966.

Legal and political career

He was admitted to the California bar in 1967 and commenced practice in Santa Ana. He was a Santa Ana city councilman from 1969 to 1973. He was concurrently the mayor of Santa Ana and the city attorney of Placentia from 1973 to 1975.

House of Representatives

Congressman Patterson was the first Democrat to be elected to Congress from a district entirely within Orange County, California. He served five terms from January 3, 1975 until January 3, 1985, when he lost his reelection bid to Bob Dornan. He served as chairman of the Select Committee on Committee Reform (Ninety-sixth Congress), and chaired the House Subcommittee on International Development Finance in the Ninety-seventh and Ninety-eighth Congress. Patterson was also a member of the United States House Select Committee on Children, Youth, and Families[1]

Post-political career

He resumed the practice of law in Costa Mesa in 1986. He was a professor at California State University, Long Beach from 1986 to 1999. He became the city attorney of Cypress in 1987, Dana Point, California in 1989 and Lake Forest, California in 1991. Patterson retired from his law practice in 1997 and has been president of his own public affairs consulting firm since 1998. Patterson continues to be an educator, community activist and member of nonprofit boards and commissions. In 1996 Patterson returned to elective office when he won a seat on the Coast Community College District Board of Trustees where he continues to serve on the college board for Orange Coast College, Golden West College and Coastline Community College.

Personal life

Patterson lives in Fountain Valley, with his wife, Linda Moulton-Patterson. They have four adult children and six grandchildren.

References

1. Children, youth, and families: Beginning the assessment. Hearing before the Select Committee on Children, Youth, and Families; House of Representatives, Ninety-Eighth Congress, First Session, United States House of Representatives, Washington, DC, 28 April 1984, Original document retrieved 19 January 2014 from ERIC at Ed.gov: Institution of Education Sciences.

External links

• Guide to the Jerry M. Patterson Papers. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California.
• Official Coast Community College District Board biography

• United States Congress. "Jerry M. Patterson (id: P000121)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress website http://bioguide.congress.gov.