Patricia A. McCoy (born January 26, 1955) is an American politician who serves as the Minority Leader in the

Vermont House of Representatives The Vermont House of Representatives is the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The House comprises 150 members, with each member representing around 4,100 citizens. Representatives ar ...

and from the Rutland district as a member of the Republican Party. She has served as the

town clerk A clerk is a senior official of many municipal governments in the English-speaking world. In some communities, including most in the United States, the position is elected, but in many others, the clerk is appointed to their post. In the UK, a To ...

and treasurer in

Poultney, Vermont Poultney is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, Rutland County in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Vermont. New York (state), New York state is on its western border. Castleton, Vermont, is on its northern border. Poultney was home to Gr ...

since 1991.

Early life and education

Patricia A. McCoy was born in

Bridgeport, Connecticut Bridgeport is the List of municipalities in Connecticut, most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the List of cities by population in New England, fifth-most populous ...

, on January 26, 1955. She graduated from Stratford High School, and the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Hart ...

with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree in environmental resource management. She married Matthew McCoy, with whom she had three children, and has lived in

since 1979.

Career

Local politics

McCoy initially supported the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

after moving to Vermont. She was first elected to serve as Poultney's

and treasurer in 1991, to succeed Josephine Williams, who had retired after having served since 1982. McCoy became the treasurer for the Poultney school district following the resignation of the business manager of the Rutland Southwest Supervisory Union and served in that role until she appointed Steve Parker as assistant school treasurer. She was selected to serve as the treasurer of the Vermont Municipal Clerks and Treasurers Association in 2000, and the organization gave her the Clerk of the Year Award alongside Gary Snider.

Vermont House of Representatives

Andy Donaghy, a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

member of the

, retired during the 2014 election. She won the Republican nomination without opposition and faced no opposition in the 2014, 2016, and 2018 elections. She defeated

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

candidate Tyler-Joseph Ballard in the 2020 election. During her tenure in the state house she has served on the Human Services, Commerce and Economic Development, Transportation, Rules, Legislative Council committees. She was selected to serve as assistant minority leader alongside Representative

Brian K. Savage Brian K. Savage (born April 12, 1955) is a Republican member of the Vermont House of Representatives. He is one of two representatives from the Franklin-4 District that consists of the Towns of Swanton and Sheldon Sheldon may refer to: * Sheld ...

in 2016, and was selected to replace Donald H. Turner as Minority Leader when he ran for lieutenant governor in 2018.

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCoy, Patricia 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians 1955 births Living people Republican Party members of the Vermont House of Representatives People from Bridgeport, Connecticut University of Connecticut alumni Women state legislators in Vermont