Patricia Weedn (née Throckmorton; born May 10, 1950) is an American politician from the U.S. state of
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
. Elected in 1989, Weedn served in the
Oklahoma Senate
The Oklahoma Senate is the upper house of the two houses of the Legislature of Oklahoma, the other being the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The total number of senators is set at 48 by the Oklahoma Constitution.County Assessor
Tax assessment, or assessment, is the job of determining the value, and sometimes determining the use, of property, usually to calculate a property tax. This is usually done by an office called the assessor or tax assessor.
Governments need to ...
for ten years. She was the first woman to be elected Senator in Cleveland and McClain counties. Weedn remains active in her community outside of the legislature and has two children.
Early life
Born in
Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...
on May 10, 1950, Weedn was one of seven children born to parents Carl and Ted Throckmorton. Along with selling vegetables and other goods on the side of the highway, Weedn's parents started a family-owned restaurant and truck stop from 1961 on that ran 24 hours a day. All seven of the children worked the restaurant and Weedn learned to cook large meals at a very young age because of her experience with the family business. Weedn became interested in politics due to her father's interest and involvement in the political sphere.
Education
When Weedn's youngest daughter graduated from high school in 1993, she began her college education that fall. Weedn got her degree in Public Administration from the
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...
in four and a half years while she was in the state Senate.
Career
Weedn went to work for the McClain County Courthouse at the age of 21 as the deputy treasurer. She served in this role for approximately seven years. At the age of 27, Weedn ran for her first public office position and was elected in 1978 as McClain County Assessor. During the middle of her third term as the County Assessor, in 1988, Weedn felt that it was the appropriate time to run for the Oklahoma Senate, a dream she had been waiting to make a reality. Weedn worked as her own campaign manager and spent $752 in two races as opposed to her opponent who spent nearly $14,000. Her pastor developed a slogan for her first campaign that read, " I'd rather be Lead'n with Weedn than out on a limb with Branch."
Oklahoma Senate
Elected in 1989, Weedn represented the 15th District in the
Oklahoma Senate
The Oklahoma Senate is the upper house of the two houses of the Legislature of Oklahoma, the other being the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The total number of senators is set at 48 by the Oklahoma Constitution. Weedn remained extremely busy while in office, attending every function or speaking event that she was invited to in her district. The first controversial bill that Weedn voted on was House Bill 1750. This bill increased taxes to fund education and barely passed. While in office, Weedn authored a bill that stopped
partial birth abortion
Intact dilation and extraction (D&X, IDX, or intact D&E) is a surgical procedure that removes an intact fetus from the uterus. The procedure is used both after miscarriages and for abortions in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy.
In U ...
. Within the
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States. Founded in 1828, it was predominantly built by Martin Van Buren, who assembled a wide cadre of politicians in every state behind war hero An ...
she received a lot of backlash for her role with this controversial law. In 1995, Weedn lead an economic incentive bill that was beneficial to the
Wal-Mart
Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
distribution center which in turn created jobs for around 600 workers in Pauls Valley, OK.
Weedn decided not to run for her last term because her husband was diagnosed with cancer and she could not see herself campaigning under those circumstances. She returned all of the campaign donations she had raised up until that point and retired after a 32-year career as a state and county employee.
Since retiring, Weedn works as a full-time employee as the executive director for the Council of Governments.
Senate Committees
*General Government Committee
*Department of Human Services Sub-Committee
*Appropriations Committee
Outside of public office, Weedn spends her time with several organizations, including:
*14 Chamber of Commerce
*
Pentecostal Holiness Church
The International Pentecostal Holiness Church (IPHC) or simply Pentecostal Holiness Church (PHC) is a Christian_perfection#Holiness_Pentecostalism, Holiness-Pentecostal Christian denomination founded in 1911 with the merger of two older denominat ...
of Christian Ministries, Board Member
*
Kiwanis
Kiwanis International ( ) is an international service club founded in 1915 in Detroit, Michigan. It is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, and is found in more than 80 nations and geographic areas. Since 1987, the organizatio ...
*Oklahoma Federation of Democratic Women
*McClain County Democratic Party
*Sooner
Girl Scout
Girl Guides (known as Girl Scouts in the United States and some other countries) is a worldwide movement, originally and largely still designed for girls and women only. The movement began in 1909 when girls requested to join the then-grassroot ...