FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | October 7, 2026
Contact: Sarah Fulton (302) 401-1114
DOVER — Senate President Pro Tempore Dave Sokola, Senate Majority Leader Bryan Townsend, and Senator Nicole Poore issued the following statement in remembrance of their colleague, former Senate President Pro Tempore Patti Blevins, who died overnight:
“Throughout her service to Delaware, Patti Blevins proved that strength and power could flow from kindness and mutual respect.
As a Councilwoman, then Mayor of Elsmere, and later just the second woman to lead the Senate in our State’s history, Patti proved that listening, learning, and empowering others were foundational to successful leadership.
Patti commanded respect because she showed it to others. She could be trusted with her word, and could always be counted on to do the right thing. And while she led fiercely on issues like domestic violence prevention and animal rights, she also encouraged her colleagues to lead in their areas of expertise. Similarly, she deeply trusted and respected her staff and often sought out their counsel and perspective. The result was a deep loyalty and affection from many staffers that endured well beyond her Senate service.
Serving alongside Senator Blevins was an honor, and each of us has learned so much that we’ve tried to carry forward as legislators. But there was even more to love about Patti as a friend. She was a proud mother and grandmother, a dog lover, and a baseball fan who loved her Phillies. She worked hard to make the Senate feel like a family, and today our family mourns the loss of one of the very best to ever do this work.”
ABOUT SENATOR BLEVINS
During her tenure in the General Assembly, Senator Blevins was revered as a pioneer at the time on several major facets of modern public policy:
- Championed women’s reproductive health rights, equal pay, and marriage equality
- Updated Delaware’s laws protecting dogs, cats and other pets and ultimately spearheaded the formation of Delaware’s Office of Animal Welfare
- Expanded children’s health and dental insurance coverage and increasing school nurse coverage through her leadership on the Delaware Legislative Kids Caucus
- Passed a wide range of legislation aimed at supporting victims of sexual or domestic abuse; passed legislation creating an address confidentiality program to protect victims of domestic violence
- Rewrote Delaware’s rape and domestic violence laws, establishing the Domestic Violence Coordinating Council, enacting the State’s Protection from Abuse statute, and prohibiting access to firearms by DV abusers
- Provided prescription drug price relief for seniors
- Secured funds to purchase Brandywine Springs Elementary School, and thousands of acres of open space while serving as Co-Chair of the Senate Capital Improvements Committee.
- Was instrumental in the negotiations between CSX and the community in the expansion of the Elsmere rail yard, which had a significant impact on the local economy.
But Patti also dug in on work that didn’t always lead to headlines.
She secured funding to correct erosion and flooding along Little Mill Creek, a complicated project that spanned nearly a decade. She also worked closely with DelDOT to fund significant safety improvements, where outdated infrastructure and poor drainage systems had plagued communities in Elsmere and along Centre Road.
Patti also made environmental justice a priority, working to eliminate sewer overflows that emptied into small streams adjacent to residential and recreational areas. That led to her becoming a lead advocate for eliminating other sewer overflows, including those in underserved communities in Wilmington, well outside her Senate district.
Senator Blevins was inducted into the Delaware Women’s Hall of Fame in 2004.
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