"P" is for Patterson, Gladys Elizabeth Johnston [b. 1939]

"P" is for Patterson, Gladys Elizabeth Johnston [b. 1939]. Legislator. Congresswoman. After graduating from Columbia College, Patterson served as a public affairs officer with the Peace Corps and with VISTA in Washington, D.C. –and as an administrator with the Head Start Program in Columbia. After a brief stint on the Spartanburg County Council, she was elected to the South Carolina Senate, serving from 1979 to 1986. In 1986, Patterson ran for Congress as a Democrat in the solidly Republican Fourth Congressional District--and won. In Congress, she promoted budget reform and served on committees dealing with banking, veterans’ affairs, hunger, and international competitiveness. She lost her bid for re-election in 1992. Two years later Gladys Elizabeth Johnston Patterson won the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor, but lost in the general election and retired from politics.