 Prior to being elected to the state assembly, he was a business executive, broadcaster, public speaker, and is the former Mayor of Fresno, California.Patterson was Mayor of Fresno between 1993 and 2001, defeating Karen Humphrey for reelection, and being succeeded by Alan Autry.Patterson ran for the Republican nomination in California's 21st congressional district, a district with new boundaries created through reapportionment after the 2000 United States census.