Patricia "Tricia" Ann Cotham (born 1978) is a former member of the
North Carolina House of Representatives
The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the House, who holds powers similar to those of the President pro-tem in the North Ca ...
from the 100th district (
Mecklenburg County) and congressional candidate. In March 2007, she was appointed by Governor
Mike Easley
Michael Francis Easley (born March 23, 1950) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 72nd governor of North Carolina from 2001 to 2009. He is the first
governor of North Carolina to have been convicted of a felony.
A member of ...
, upon the recommendation of local Democratic Party leaders, to replace state Representative
James B. Black
James Boyce Black (born March 25, 1935) is a member of the North Carolina Democratic Party, and a former member of the North Carolina General Assembly, who represented the state's 100th House district, including constituents in Mecklenburg Cou ...
, who had resigned.
At 28 years old, Cotham became the youngest member of the 2007-2008 session of the
state legislature
A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system.
Two federations literally use the term "state legislature":
* The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...
and the youngest woman to ever serve in the NC House of Representatives. Cotham served as Co-Chair of the House's K-12 Education subcommittee from 2008-2010.
In 2008, she was named
UNC Chapel Hill's School of Education's Young Alumna of the Year and the
North Carolina Association of Educators
The North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE) is a professional association for public school employees formed in 1970 by the merger of the North Carolina Education Association with the North Carolina Teachers Association. Since North Carolin ...
(NCAE) graded Cotham an "A+" Legislator.
Prior to serving in the legislature, Cotham began her first year of classroom teaching in 2001, where she taught social studies and was named Most Outstanding First Year Middle School Teacher of the East Region of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District. She started her first year as an Assistant Principal at East Mecklenburg High School in the fall of 2006 and was appointed to the legislature in March 2007.
Cotham chose not to run for re-election in 2016. She later said she would consider running for the U.S. House of Representatives in the newly redrawn 12th congressional district. Cotham filed to run for the seat on March 21, 2016, but lost the primary to incumbent Congresswoman Alma Adams.
Family
Cotham’s mother,
Pat Cotham, is a former Democratic National Committee member and currently a member of the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners, having been elected in 2012. Cotham's cousin,
Emily Cain
Emily Ann Cain (born March 29, 1980) is an American politician from Maine and Executive Director of EMILY's List. A member of the Democratic Party, Cain served in the Maine Senate from 2012 to 2014, representing the 30th district which includes p ...
, also a Democrat, was elected to the Maine House of Representatives in 2004 at age 24 as its youngest female member. Cain served as the Minority Leader for the Maine House Democrats.
Cotham has two sons.
Campaign site
/ref> Cotham lives in Charlotte, NC.
Electoral history
2022
2016
2014
2012
2010
2008
References
* ttp://www.charlotte.com/112/story/53232.html Charlotte Observer: Educator chosen to fill Black's old seat
External links
Official legislative pageTwitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cotham, Tricia
1978 births
Democratic Party members of the North Carolina House of Representatives
Women state legislators in North Carolina
Living people
21st-century American politicians
21st-century American women politicians
Politicians from Charlotte, North Carolina
People from Matthews, North Carolina
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Education alumni