Pryce, Deborah, 1951-

<p>First elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1992, Deborah Pryce rose through party leadership to become Republican Conference Chair a decade later, making her at the time the highest-ranking Republican woman in House history. As a member of the Financial Services Committee and as a Deputy Whip, Pryce drew on her background as a former judge and prosecutor to build consensus in the House. Her legislative interests ranged from consumer financial protection to housing to pediatric cancer and adoption law. “I think it made me a better Member to be on the inside,” Pryce noted of her approach to governing. “Information is the key to everything that’s done legislatively no matter where you are, and the sooner you know it, the stronger you are, and if you are discerning enough to know when to share it, the stronger you are. And I think it blended well with the person I am, maybe curious and maybe nibby, but I liked to be on the inside of the people part of the process.”</p>

<p>Deborah Denine Pryce was born in Warren, Ohio, on July 29, 1951, to Richard and Ellen Pryce, both of whom were pharmacists. The eldest of five children, Pryce recalled the time she and her siblings spent alongside her parents at work. “We all grew up in the pharmacy, working and learning about our community and that business. It was a great work ethic, and I’m very glad that they instilled that into me because it was a wonderful way to grow up and gave me a sense of what America is all about.”</p>

<p>Pryce graduated from Ohio State University in 1973 and received her law degree from Capital University Law School three years later. From 1976 to 1978, Pryce served as an administrative law judge for the Ohio state department of insurance. She worked as a prosecutor and municipal attorney for the city attorney’s office of Columbus from 1978 to 1985. Pryce served two terms as the presiding judge in the municipal court of Franklin County from 1985 to 1992. The resistance she faced when considering a run for presiding judge fueled her desire to win the campaign. “I was on the bench as a judge, and I wanted to run for that seat. Some of the men in the party had different ideas about who the candidate was going to be, and so they said, ‘No, you won’t, he will.’ And that got my blood boiling.”</p>

<p>Deborah Denine Pryce (born July 29, 1951) is an American lawyer, jurist, and politician from Ohio who was the member of the United States House of Representatives for Ohio's 15th congressional district, which includes the western half of Columbus and the surrounding suburbs, from 1993 to 2009. She is a member of the Republican Party.</p>

<p>Born in Warren, Ohio, Pryce is a 1973 graduate of Ohio State University, where she was a member of Alpha Xi Delta. In 1976, she graduated from Capital University Law School.</p>

<p>Pryce was an administrative law judge for the Ohio State Department of Insurance for 1976–1978. From 1978 to 1985 she worked for the city of Columbus, Ohio, first as an assistant city prosecutor, then as a senior assistant city attorney, and finally as an assistant city manager.</p>

<p>Pryce was a judge in the Franklin County Municipal Court from 1985 to 1992, ending as presiding judge.</p>