Thelma Day Drake (born November 20, 1949) is an American politician and former

member of Congress A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, 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 t ...

for

Virginia's 2nd congressional district Virginia's second congressional district is a List of United States congressional districts, U.S. congressional district in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It currently encompasses all of the counties of Accomack County, Virginia, Accomack, Nort ...

. A Republican, she served in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from 2005 to 2009. Prior to serving in Congress, Thelma Drake served nine years in the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two houses of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

. After leaving Congress, Drake was appointed to be Director of the

Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (VDRPT) is an agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The agency's mission is "to connect and improve the quality of life for all Virginians with innovative transpor ...

by Governor Robert McDonnell, and later became Assistant Director of Public Works Transportation Division for the City of Norfolk. She also worked as a real estate agent in the Hampton Roads region. On February 15, 2018, Drake was nominated by President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

as the Administrator of the

Federal Transit Administration The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is an agency within the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) that provides financial and technical assistance to local public transportation systems. The FTA is one of ten modal administration ...

. On January 3, 2019, the nomination expired. On January 16, 2019, she was renominated to the same office. The nomination expired on January 3, 2020 and she was not renominated.

Early life and education

Thelma Drake was born Thelma Mary Day in

Elyria, Ohio Elyria ( ) is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the forks of the Black River (Ohio), Black River in Northeast Ohio, southwest of Cleveland. The population was 52,656 at the 2020 United States cens ...

to parents Harry Elwood Day and Ephram O'Brien Day. She attended both

Elyria Catholic High School Elyria Catholic High School (ECHS) is a private Catholic high school located in Elyria, Ohio, United States. It is affiliated with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cleveland and is the only Catholic high school in Lorain County. Elyria Catholic was ...

and

Elyria High School Elyria High School is a public high school in Elyria, Ohio. Founded in 1830, it is notable for being the first chartered high school west of the Allegheny Mountains. Elyria High School athletic teams are known as the Pioneers and compete in the ...

. She later attended

Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (ODU) is a Public university, public research university in Norfolk, Virginia, United States. Established in 1930 as the two-year Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary, it began by educating people with fewer ...

in Norfolk, Virginia.

Career

Virginia House of Delegates

In 1995 Drake became the second Republican to be elected to represent the City of Norfolk in the

since the

Reconstruction era The Reconstruction era was a period in History of the United States, US history that followed the American Civil War (1861-65) and was dominated by the legal, social, and political challenges of the Abolitionism in the United States, abol ...

. She served in the House of Delegates for nine years representing the 87th District. Drake served as chair of the Virginia Housing Commission and as a member of the Chesapeake Bay Commission.

U.S. Congress

Drake was elected to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

in 2004. She entered the race after incumbent Republican congressman

Ed Schrock Edward Lee Schrock (born April 6, 1941) is a retired naval officer (1964–1988) and American Republican politician who served as a member of the Senate of Virginia from 1996 to 2001. He also served in the U.S. House of Representatives from Ja ...

ended his re-election campaign. Drake defeated Democratic Party candidate, David Ashe, in the general election, becoming the third woman to represent Virginia in Congress after

Leslie Byrne Leslie Larkin Byrne (née Beck; born October 27, 1946) is an American politician and businesswoman who served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for Virginia's Virginia's 11th congressional district, 11th congres ...

and

Jo Ann Davis Jo Ann Davis (née Sides; June 29, 1950 – October 6, 2007) was an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 2001 to 2007. A member of the Republican Party from Virginia, she represented the s ...

. In 2006, Drake defeated Democratic Party candidate, Phillip Kellam, 51% to 49%. In 2008, Drake was defeated by Democratic nominee

Glenn Nye Glenn Carlyle Nye III (born September 9, 1974) is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for from 2009 to 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He was defeated in his attempt to attain re-election on November 2, 2010. Th ...

Personal life

She is married to Ted Drake and lives in the East Ocean View area of

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

Electoral history

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Drake, Thelma D. 1949 births 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century American women politicians Living people Republican Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates Female members of the United States House of Representatives Old Dominion University alumni People from Elyria, Ohio Politicians from Norfolk, Virginia Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia First Trump administration personnel United Church of Christ members United States Department of Transportation officials Women state legislators in Virginia 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives 21st-century members of the Virginia General Assembly 20th-century members of the Virginia General Assembly