Former Delaware Senate leader Patricia “Patti” Blevins has died at the age of 72, prompting Gov. Matt Meyer to order the state flag lowered to half-staff in her honor.
Blevins died overnight before the announcement on Oct. 7, according to a statement from former Senate colleagues.
A cause of death was not provided.
Meyer’s order recognized Blevins’ decades of public service, which included time on the Elsmere Town Council, service as mayor of Elsmere and more than 25 years in the Delaware Senate.
Blevins first won a Senate seat in 1990 and represented the Elsmere area for more than two decades.
She eventually rose to become one of the chamber’s most powerful members.
After serving as majority leader, Blevins became president pro tempore of the Delaware Senate in 2013.
That role placed her among the state’s top legislative leaders and gave her a major voice in budget, public safety and statewide policy debates.
Her political career, however, began at the local level.
Before entering the state Senate, Blevins served on the Elsmere Town Council and later as mayor.
That background remained visible throughout her legislative career, particularly in her focus on roads, flooding and infrastructure problems affecting local communities.
Former colleagues credited Blevins with helping secure funding to address erosion and flooding along Little Mill Creek.
The project reportedly took nearly a decade to complete because of its complexity and the amount of funding required.
She also worked with transportation officials on safety improvements near Elsmere and Centre Road.
Those projects addressed aging infrastructure, drainage issues and road safety concerns.
Blevins was also credited with efforts to deal with sewer overflows near homes and recreation areas.
Her colleagues said some of that advocacy extended into underserved communities in Wilmington as well.
In addition to infrastructure, Blevins became known for legislation involving domestic violence and sexual assault.
Former Senate colleagues pointed to her work creating an address confidentiality program designed to help domestic violence victims keep their locations private.
They also credited her with changes to rape and domestic violence laws and the creation of a coordinating council.
Her legislative record also included support for Delaware’s Protection from Abuse statute and restrictions on firearm access for people accused or convicted in domestic violence cases.
Blevins also made animal welfare a major part of her public service.
She chaired a task force that examined animal control, cruelty investigations and spay-and-neuter programs.
After leaving the Senate, she moved into state administration.
Delaware hired her in 2017 to lead the Office of Animal Welfare.
The office oversees animal control services, shelter standards, cruelty enforcement and emergency response involving animals.
Her former colleagues said she helped modernize protections for pets and played a major role in creating the office itself.
Blevins was also credited with work involving children’s health and dental insurance coverage, school nurse staffing, prescription drug assistance for seniors, equal pay and marriage equality, per the Conservative Brief.
She also served on the Senate Capital Improvements Committee, where colleagues said she helped secure funding for open space and Brandywine Springs Elementary School.
Another major local issue involved the expansion of the Elsmere rail yard.
Her former colleagues said Blevins played a role in negotiations over the project, which they described as having a significant impact on the local economy.
Her long Senate career ended in 2016 when Republican Anthony Delcollo defeated her by fewer than 300 votes.
The narrow loss brought an end to more than a quarter century in the chamber.
Blevins’ death now closes a long chapter in Delaware politics.
From town government to Senate leadership and later animal welfare administration, her career stretched across several levels of public service.
The state flag will remain lowered in her honor, though the governor’s announcement did not specify when the half-staff observance would end.
