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STORY BY CHARLES E. RICHARDSON | PHOTOS BY JESSICA WHITLEY granddaughter of two Vietnam veterans. Her spouse is a 15-year Army veteran. Once the small hamlet of Wellston, the city became Warner Robins in 1942 with the arrival of Robins Air Force Base. The base remains its economic anchor, employing over 23,000 military personnel, contractors, and civilians. In 2021, few may have thought that the young attorney and mother to a young son would have beaten the white, male incumbent. As Patrick told Macon Magazine when she was first elected, "'First' will follow me throughout my career, so I've got a lot to live up to, stereotypes to break down, and expectations to meet. Everybody's watching, especially people in the same category. They want to see the example I'll set and whether I'll open doors for others. There's pressure, but I can withstand it. As my husband says, "Pressure makes diamonds." In 2022, she began to prove to Warner Robins exactly what a candidate of her intelligence and drive could accomplish for the city. C HAL L E N G I N G S TART Waiting in her new office on the second floor of City Hall were several challenges. Within the first month she suspended the city administrator, David Corbin, who had been in the position less than a year, for signing a $347,000 contract to outsource the city's payroll system. "The only purchasing agent for the city of Warner Robins is the mayor," Patrick said. The prior payroll system led to a $800,000 IRS fine. Some on the council disagreed with the suspension, but the law was on her side, and she stood her ground. Corbin resigned two weeks later. That added to At the ballot box, they chose her O n Jan. 3, 2022, the earth shook. The epicenter of the quake was the city of Warner Robins, Georgia, where for the first time in its 82-year history, its citizens elected a female — a Black female at that — to the city's highest office. LaRhonda Patrick walked into the mayor's office after a hard-fought battle. She bested incumbent Randy Toms by 325 votes in a runoff, making her the youngest, first Black, and first female mayor elected to lead The International City. While the mayor's office is her first elected position, she's Patrick's no neophyte. She worked in the Georgia General Assembly, established her law practice in Warner Robins, and served as city attorney and solicitor for Fort Valley. But there were other past experiences that set the stage for her candidacy. Patrick also worked as chief compliance officer, contracts administrator, and proposal manager for Standard Technology, a company that provides services for the Department of Defense, where she negotiated multimillion-dollar contracts. After graduating from Northside High School, Patrick left Warner Robins during her college years, but has otherwise called the city home. She attended the same law school, North Carolina Central, as the late Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson and Mike Easley, former governor of North Carolina. Her military upbringing may have also helped prepare her to lead the city. A self-described "military brat," Mayor Patrick was born at Andrews Air Force Base, where her father was stationed, and she is the 56 maconmagazine.com | April/May 2024