Thelma Drake

Thelma Drake
Nominee for Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration
Assuming office
TBD*
President Donald Trump
Succeeding Peter M. Rogoff
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Virginia's 2nd district
In office
January 3, 2005 – January 3, 2009
Preceded by Ed Schrock
Succeeded by Glenn Nye
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates
from the 87th district
In office
January 10, 1996 – January 3, 2005
Preceded by Howard Copeland
Succeeded by Paula Miller
Personal details
Born Thelma Day
(1949-11-20) November 20, 1949
Elyria, Ohio, U.S.
Political party Republican
Spouse(s)
Joe Sawyers
(m. 1974; div. 1984)

Ted Drake (m. 1990)
Children 2
Residence East Ocean View, Norfolk, Virginia
  • Pending Senate confirmation

Thelma Day Drake (born November 20, 1949) is an American politician and former member of Congress of the Republican party from the state of Virginia. She was first elected to the United States House of Representatives in November 2004 to represent Virginia's 2nd congressional district. She was defeated by Democrat Glenn Nye in 2008.

Personal life

Thelma Drake was born Thelma Day in Elyria, Ohio. She grew up in Ohio and attended Elyria Catholic High School. She later attended Old Dominion University, but did not graduate. She worked as a real estate agent in Norfolk, Virginia.

Drake's first marriage was from 1967 to 1969 to a United States Navy officer. From 1974 to 1984, Drake was married to Joe Sawyers, who had six children previously.[1]

Since 1990, Thelma Drake has been married to Ted Drake.[1] She and her husband reside in East Ocean View, Norfolk. She was the director of the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transit under the McDonnell administration.

Career in the House of Delegates

In 1995 Drake became the second Republican to be elected from the Norfolk area to the Virginia House of Delegates since Reconstruction. She served in the House of Delegates for nine years representing the 87th District. Drake served as chairman of the Virginia Housing Commission and as a member of the Chesapeake Bay Commission.

Career in the U.S. Congress

Election history

In 2004, Drake was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives of the 109th United States Congress. She entered the race after incumbent Republican congressman Ed Schrock dropped out on August 30, 2004. Drake defeated Democrat David Ashe 55%–45% in the general election, becoming the third woman to represent Virginia in Congress after Leslie Byrne and Jo Ann Davis.

In 2006, Drake defeated Democrat Phillip Kellam 51% to 49%. Kellam, a Democratic officeholder in Virginia Beach, Virginia, currently serves as its Commissioner of Revenue. Her former staffers include Carrie Melvin Domnitch, Jordan Davis, Tyler Brown, Mike Cosio, Dena Kozanas, Kate MacGregor and Jeff Scott.

In 2008, Drake's opponent was Democratic nominee Glenn Nye. Nye received the endorsement of The Virginian-Pilot, which endorsed Drake in 2006. The Virginian-Pilot editors stated that Drake had been ineffective in Congress.[2] Nye won the election and took office in January 2009.

Virginia's 2nd congressional district: Results 2004–2008[3][4]
Year Democrat Votes Pct Republican Votes Pct
2004 David Ashe 108,180 45% Thelma D. Drake 132,946 55% *
2006 Philip J. Kellam 83,901 48% Thelma D. Drake 88,777 51% *
2008 Glenn Nye 141,857 52% Thelma D. Drake 128,486 47% *

*Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 2004, write-ins received 254 votes. In 2006, write-ins received 481 votes. In 2008, write-ins received 368 votes.

Federal Transit Administrator

According to a White House press release issued on February 13, 2018, President Trump intends on nominating Drake as the Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration.[5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Frank, Jon (October 19, 2006). "Drake: Humble roots paved conservative's path to Washington". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  2. ↑ For Congress: Glen Nye, The Virginian-Pilot, October 24, 2008
  3. ↑ "Election Statistics". Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives. Archived from the original on July 25, 2007. Retrieved January 10, 2008.
  4. ↑ November 2008 Unofficial Results Archived April 1, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Virginia State Board of Elections
  5. ↑ "Trump to nominate Thelma Drake for Federal Transit administrator". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
Virginia House of Delegates
Preceded by
Howard Copeland		 Member of the Virginia House of Delegates
from the 87th district
1996–2005		 Succeeded by
Paula Miller
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Ed Schrock		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Virginia's 2nd congressional district
2005–2009		 Succeeded by
Glenn Nye
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.