Leslie L. Byrne

Leslie Larkin Byrne (born October 27, 1946) is a politician, a former member of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia. A member of the Democratic Party, in 1992 she was the first woman elected to the U.S. Congress from the Commonwealth of Virginia. She served for one term (1993–1995) in the 103rd Congress.

Byrne grew up in Salt Lake City and attended both the University of Utah and Mount Vernon College in Ohio. Shortly after her family moved in 1971 to Northern Virginia, Byrne entered the public arena as an activist in community organizations and the Parent Teacher Associations for her children's schools. She served as President of the Fairfax Area League of Women Voters and Chairwoman of the Fairfax County Commission on Fair Campaign Practices.

In 1985, Byrne co-founded Quintech Associates, Inc., a project-based human resources consulting firm to the high-tech community. She served as president of Quintech until her election to Congress in 1992.

She is married to Larry Byrne, who is President of Byrne and Associates, an international consulting firm. They have two grown children, daughter Alexis and son Jason, and three grandchildren.

Byrne served in the Virginia House of Delegates for seven years, starting in 1985 by defeating two-term Republican incumbent Gwen Cody, before being elected to the US House of Representatives in 1992 from the newly created 11th congressional district. Virginia was awarded an additional House seat as a result of the 1990 U.S. Census.

Representative Leslie Byrne gives her keynote address at the Pentagon, March 31, 1993, during the Women's History Month observance.

She is the first woman to have been elected to Congress from Virginia. 1992 was known as the "Year of the Woman" for the large number of women elected to Congress in that election. While a member of the 103rd Congress, she served on the Public Works and Transportation Committee and Subcommittees on Surface Transportation, Water Resources; and Investigations and Oversight. Representative Byrne was also a member of the Post Office and Civil Service Committee, serving on the subcommittee on employee benefits and compensation.

The freshman Democratic members of the 103rd Congress elected her to the leadership position of freshman caucus whip. She introduced and passed more legislation than any other freshman representative. In addition, two of her measures on childhood immunization passed into law early in the first session of the 103rd Congress. Byrne played a role in preventing cuts in federal workers' wages and benefits. Additionally, she helped lead the effort to improve federal oversight of the nation's 1.7 million miles of natural gas and petroleum pipelines. Byrne's legislative efforts included Medicaid reform; increasing opportunities of IRA holders to see their savings for first-time home purchases and college costs; cost savings on federal highway projects through value engineering; and enhancing the international market for American high technologies. She helped obtain funds for rail from Tysons Corner to Dulles Airport.

Thomas M. Davis, then chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, defeated her for re-election in 1994's "Republican Revolution." His campaign charged that Byrne was too liberal for the swing district she represented and that her voting record was too supportive of President Bill Clinton.

In 1996, Byrne sought the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate to challenge incumbent Senator John Warner. Future Virginia Governor Mark Warner (no relation) won the nomination at the 1996 Virginia Democratic Convention, garnering 1,889 delegates to Byrne's 231. He lost to Senator Warner.

In 1998 Byrne took a job at United States Information Agency advising its director on the au pair program.

Byrne returned to elected office when she was elected to the Senate of Virginia in 1999, winning a very close election against two-term incumbent Republican Jane Woods (45.52% to Wood's 45.39%). She left the Senate after one term, choosing not to seek reelection after she was drawn into the same district as another Democratic incumbent during redistricting. In the Senate of Virginia she sponsored legislation to prohibit people from sleeping in rooms except bedrooms, a response to complaints of students and poor immigrants crowded into residential houses.

Byrne was the 2005 Democratic Party candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. Republican Party candidate Bill Bolling defeated her in the November 8, 2005 general election by 1.2%.

In the United States Senate election in Virginia, 2006, Byrne endorsed future Senator James Webb for the Democratic nomination, while many local party activists supported his primary opponent, Harris Miller.

2008 congressional race

In 2008, Byrne ran for the Democratic nomination for Virginia's 11th congressional district, the seat she held from 1992 to 1994. She was the first to enter the race, well before the incumbent Thomas M. Davis, a Republican, had announced he would choose not to seek reelection. In the primary election on June 10, 2008, she faced Gerald Connolly, Doug Denneny and Lori Alexander. Connolly, Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, defeated Byrne by 58% to 33%, and went on to defeat Republican Keith Fimian in the general election.

Byrne has supported public/private partnerships for transportation, including the Dulles Greenway project when she was in the Virginia House of Delegates.