Norwood James Patterson, Jr (born February 18, 1948) is an American politician serving in the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The ...

. He is 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 ...

representing the 23rd district, which encompasses eastern

Fresno County Fresno County (), officially the County of Fresno, is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 1,008,654. The county seat is Fresno, the fifth-most populous city in Cali ...

, including the cities of

Fresno Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

and Clovis, and a small slice of Tulare County. He is the former Mayor of

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

Early career

Prior to being elected to public office, he was a business executive and broadcaster owning and operating radio stations in California and Idaho.

Mayor

Patterson was

Mayor of Fresno Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, ma ...

between 1993 and 2001, defeating incumbent Democrat

Karen Humphrey Karen Humphrey is a former local news reporter, who later served as mayor of Fresno, California between 1989 and 1993. She was the first female mayor of Fresno, and as of 2019, the last Democratic mayor the city has had. She lost re-election to bu ...

for reelection by a landslide, and being succeeded by

Alan Autry Carlos Alan Autry Jr. (also known for a time as Carlos Brown; born July 31, 1952), is an American actor, politician, and former National Football League player. During his brief football career, he was known as Carlos Brown. He played the ro ...

2002 Congressional election

Patterson ran for the Republican nomination in California's 21st congressional district, a district with new boundaries created through reapportionment after the

2000 United States census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 c ...

. His opponents were State Assemblyman Mike Briggs and

Devin Nunes Devin Gerald Nunes (; born October 1, 1973) is an American businessman and politician who is chief executive officer of the Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG). Before resigning from the House of Representatives and joining TMTG, Nunes was ...

, the California State Director for the

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of comme ...

's Rural Development section. Patterson came in close second place to Nunes, who would eventually win the general election.

2010 Congressional election

Patterson ran for the Republican nomination in

California's 19th congressional district California's 19th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California, currently represented by . The district covers much of Santa Clara County, including most of the city of San Jose. Following redistricting i ...

, to take over the seat of retiring

Congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

George Radanovich George Purdy Radanovich (born June 20, 1955) is an American politician and former U.S. Representative for , serving from 1995 to 2011. The district includes most of northern Fresno, as well as several rural areas northeast of the city. He did no ...

. He finished second in the June 8, 2010 primary to

state Senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of ...

Jeff Denham Jeffrey John Denham (born July 29, 1967) is an American politician, United States Air Force veteran, and businessman. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the U.S. representative for from 2013 to 2019. Denham first won election to th ...

, who won the general election.

Political positions

In the wake of a 2018 shooting spree in Tulare County by an illegal alien, Patterson called on his fellow legislators to change California Sanctuary Law SB54 to allow local law enforcement agencies to cooperate with detainer requests from

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the United States from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration tha ...

Electoral history

References

External links

*
Campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Patterson, Jim Republican Party members of the California State Assembly Living people Mayors of Fresno, California 21st-century American politicians 1948 births