Danner, Pat, 1934-

<p>Elected to the U.S. House by unseating an eight-term incumbent, Patsy Ann Danner carved out a reputation as a moderate, independent Democrat. Congresswoman Danner used her seat on the Public Works and Transportation Committee to tend to aviation interests in her district. As a member of the International Relations Committee, she criticized American troop commitments in the Balkans and a series of free trade agreements favored by the William J. (Bill) Clinton administration in the 1990s.</p>

<p>Patsy Ann (Pat) Berrer was born in Louisville, Kentucky, on January 13, 1934, daughter of Henry Joseph Berrer and Catherine Shaheen Berrer. She studied at Hannibal-LaGrange College for one year, in 1952, but did not graduate with a degree. Patsy Berrer married Lavon Danner, and together they had four children—Stephen, Shavonne, Shane, and Stephanie—but were later divorced. In 1982 Danner remarried to C. Markt Meyer, a retired airline pilot. Patsy Danner graduated with a BA in political science from Northeast Missouri State University in 1972.</p>

<p>Danner became involved in Missouri politics during the 1970s. From 1970 to 1972, she served as the vice chair for the Congressional District Democratic Committee in northeast Missouri and on the Macon County Democratic Committee. From 1973 to 1976, she acted as the chief district aide to U.S. Representative Jerry Lon Litton. A charismatic favorite son from north-central Missouri, Litton was killed in a plane crash the night he secured the Democratic nomination from Missouri for the U.S. Senate in 1976. Danner lost in the Democratic primary to fill Litton’s seat in the House, which represented a large area of northwestern Missouri. During the Jimmy Carter administration, she served in a sub-Cabinet post as co-chair of the Ozarks Regional Commission from 1977 to 1981; she was the first woman to chair a regional commission. In 1983 she won election to the Missouri state senate, where she served for a decade. She eventually chaired the transportation committee and was vice chair of the education committee. In 1991, Danner’s son, Steve, joined her in the Missouri senate. At the time, they were the only mother-son combination in a single legislature in the country. “I think both of us have the same philosophy,” she said, “we serve our constituents first.”</p>

<p>Patsy Ann "Pat" Danner (born January 13, 1934, Louisville, Kentucky) is an American politician. She formerly represented the Missouri's 6th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives as a Democrat.</p>

<p>Danner grew up in Bevier, Missouri; her maternal grandparents emigrated from Lebanon in the first decade of the 20th century. She attended public schools and graduated from Northeast Missouri State University cum laude with a BA in political science. Following graduation, Danner worked as district administrator to Congressman Jerry Litton. She was appointed to a sub-cabinet position in the Carter administration.</p>.

<p>Congressman Litton vacated his seat to run for the United States Senate in 1976, and Danner filed in the race to replace him. Danner was defeated in the August 1976, Democratic primary by Morgan Maxfield, who was himself defeated in November by Republican state Representative Tom Coleman. In 1982, Danner was elected to the Missouri State Senate, and was re-elected in 1986 and 1990. In 1992, Danner successfully ran for Congress, defeating the incumbent Coleman in an upset. Danner was re-elected to the House in 1994, 1996, and 1998.</p>