Patrick Mara is a former elected member of the District of Columbia Board of Education.

Early years

Mara is originally from

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

. He earned a

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

in political science and environmental science at

Marist College Marist University is a private university in Poughkeepsie (town), New York, Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Marist was founded by the Marist Brothers, a Catholic Church, Catholic religious institute, in 1905 to prepare brothers for their ...

. While at Marist, Mara was student body president Mara later served as President of the Marist College Alumni Executive Board and the Alumni Representative to the Marist College Board of Trustees. He graduated with a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

in entrepreneurship from

Babson College Babson College is a Private university, private business school in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States specializing in entrepreneurship education. Founded in 1919 by Roger Babson, the college was established as the Babson Institute in his We ...

Political career

Mara was a staffer for

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

John H. Chafee, working on environmental issues. In 2008, Mara defeated incumbent Carol Schwartz in the Republican primary for an at-large seat on the

Council of the District of Columbia The Council of the District of Columbia (or simply D.C. Council) is the legislative branch of the government of the District of Columbia. As permitted in the United States Constitution, the district is not part of any U.S. state and is overseen ...

. The ''

Washington Blade The ''Washington Blade'' is an LGBTQ newspaper in the Washington metropolitan area. The ''Blade'' is the oldest LGBTQ newspaper in the United States and third largest by circulation, behind the '' Philadelphia Gay News'' and the '' Gay City New ...

'' endorsed Mara, noting his support for same-sex marriage and other stands in support of civil rights.
/ref> ''The Washington Post'' endorsed Mara in the Republican primary and in the General Election. Democrat

Kwame R. Brown Kwame R. Brown (born October 13, 1970) is an American politician in Washington, D.C., who was an at-large member of the council from 2005 to 2011 and chairman of the Council of the District of Columbia from 2011 until his resignation in June 201 ...

and independent Michael A. Brown won the general election. In 2010, Mara won the Ward One seat on the District of Columbia State Board of Education with 53 percent of the vote. ''The Washington Post'' endorsed Mara in the election. In 2011, Mara ran in a

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

for the

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather tha ...

seat on the Council of the District of Columbia. ''The Washington Post'' endorsed Mara in the 2011 special election for At-Large D.C. Council. Mara came in second behind Vincent Orange. Mara was a board member at DC Vote from 2011 to 2013. Mara was a candidate in the special election for the at-large seat on the Council of the District of Columbia in 2013. He was endorsed by ''The Washington Post''.

New Jersey Governor The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The ...

Chris Christie Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician and former United States Attorney, federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. A member of the Republican Party (United States) ...

robocall A robocall is a phone call that uses a computerized autodialer to deliver a pre-recorded message, as if from a robot. Robocalls are often associated with political and telemarketing phone campaigns, but can also be used for public service, emerge ...

ed Republicans in the District for Mara. The D.C. chapter of the

Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an American environmental organization with chapters in all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded in 1892, in San Francisco, by preservationist John Muir. A product of the Pro ...

and the District of Columbia Chamber of Commerce endorsed Mara in the special election. Democratic Councilmember

Anita Bonds Anita Bonds (born 1945) is an American Democratic politician in Washington, D.C. She is an at-large member of the Council of the District of Columbia. She served as the Chair of the District of Columbia Democratic Party from 2006 to 2018. She ...

won the election; Mara lost with 10% of the vote. In 2014, Mara decided not to run for reelection to the District of Columbia State Board of Education. In January 2015, Mara was appointed executive director of the District of Columbia Republican Committee.

Other ventures

Mara owns The Dolan Group LLC, a business consulting firm in Washington, D.C. Mara has served on the

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

of One World Education and the Columbia Heights Day Initiative. Mara is a board member of College & Career Connections and Washington Latin Public Charter School.

Election results

2008

2010

2011

2013

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mara, Patrick Babson College alumni Living people Marist College alumni Members of the District of Columbia Board of Education People from Rhode Island Washington, D.C., Republicans 1975 births