About Patsy Ticer
Senator Patricia S. (Patsy) Ticer was first elected as Senator from the 30th Senatorial District of Virginia in 1995; she was re-elected in 1999, and again in 2003. While she continues to represent the 30th District, it has changed considerably due to the redistricting that took place in 2001. Several new areas in Fairfax and Arlington counties have been added to her District, and she no longer represents the west end of Alexandria.
Her service in the Senate continues the path she began when she was elected to office in a local civic association many years ago. Since that time, she has been broadening her horizons, having won a seat on the Alexandria City Council, then becoming Mayor, and at the same time, holding regional positions, all of this before being elected to the Senate.
During her tenure in the Senate, her committee assignments and legislation have reflected those areas of greatest concern to her. Senate Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee has provided her with an opportunity to be involved in the many environmental issues our state faces. Until Mark Warner was elected Governor, this had been an arena where Virginia's governors had been extremely reluctant to take steps to protect our Commonwealth, and the Committee has had to work to guard our natural resources.
Patsy has several other assignments including the Committee on Local Government, the Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services, and the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation Board of Trustees. She also represents Virginia on the National Conference of State Legislatures' Committee on Human Services and Welfare.
Believing that children are our future, Senator Ticer has worked for legislation and policies that provide them with the best educational environment, health care, and child care standards available. Under her legislation, newborn infants are tested-- not only for Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH), a developmental disorder that can result in the death of a newborn child, but for medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency (MCAD), another birth disorder which can prove to be crippling or fatal if not caught right away. Her bill requiring hearing tests for all newborn infants has become law, and a study has been completed to determine whether health insurance companies should be required to provide hearing aids to children under the age of five as part of their health benefits, and she is working for approval of this mandate.
Prior to serving in Richmond, Patsy was elevated from Vice Mayor to the position of Mayor of the City of Alexandria in January 1991. Patsy is the first woman to become Mayor in the history of the City. In May of that year, she was elected to a full three-year term, therefore becoming the first woman elected to the Mayor's chair. She was re-elected in 1994. Prior to that she won her first race for a seat on City Council when she ran for office for the first time in 1982; at that time she came in second in a field of twelve. She advanced from Councilwoman to Vice Mayor in 1984 and again in 1986; she was re-elected to this position in 1988.
Although her accomplishments while on City Council varied, several that had the most long reaching effects were her introduction and sponsorship of the first extensive revision of the City's Master Plan. The second most vital accomplishment was her leadership of the City at the time the owner of the Washington Redskins, Jack Kent Cooke, announced his plans to build a new stadium at Potomac Yard on the land the City had zoned for mixed commercial/residential use. The proposal was defeated after intense citizen involvement and city opposition. The third was her work to establish an Office of Early Childhood Programs in Alexandria with extensive programs for at risk children.
Also during service on the City Council, she pushed for the establishment of Alexandria's Early Childhood Development Commission and served on the Virginia Governor's Council on Child Day Care and Early Childhood Programs, where was Vice Chair. She served on the Northern Virginia Planning District Commission, which she chaired from 1985 to 1987. She also chaired the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments in 1994 and was honored to receive the prestigious Scull Award in 1996. Patsy served as a member of Virginia's Transportation Coordinating Council and Chair of the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission as well as Chairman of the Washington Metropolitan Area's Transportation Planning Board. She has recently retired as a Commissioner with the Commission for the Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) where she served for nine years. She was twice Chairman of the United Way Campaign, and President of the National Association of Regional Councils (NARC) from 1995-1996.
As a resident of Alexandria for more than fifty-five years, Patsy's prior activities have included the boards of four PTA's; former President of TWIG, the Alexandria Hospital Women's Auxiliary; Treasurer of Residential Youth Services; nine years of service including one as Senior Warden with the vestry of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, and President of FISH. She is a graduate of George Washington High School in Alexandria and Sweet Briar College. Married to Jack Ticer, a former city Councilman himself, she has four adult children, four grandsons, one granddaughter and one step-granddaughter and one step-grandson.