Pat Crow Memorial Plaza

Pat Crow Memorial Plaza. . Pat Crow (1943-2017) was a founding member of Texas Women's Political Caucus and made an indelible mark on the Austin community as a political activist and Democratic operative. Working alongside political consultant David Butts for over 25 years, Pat became one of the winningest campaign managers in Austin and Travis County history. From 1982-2008, she played a key role in 34 political campaigns, winning 30 races and numerous ballot initiatives. A major victory was the passage of the 1992 Save Our Springs Ordinance, which strengthened development regulations to protect Austin's supply of clean water and was one of the strongest water quality laws passed by citizen's initiative in the United States. Pat was also instrumental in the creation of the Travis County Hospital District in 2004 and the Austin Smoking Ban in 2005., Born Patricia Faye Rush into a military family, Pat traveled the world as a child after graduating from high school in Killeen, Texas, she earned a BA in Finance from the University of Texas and raised three children: Marc, Jeff, and Elizabeth Childers. Pat's sister, Barbara Rush, carried the torch of activism by leading numerous political campaigns and through public service for local labor unions, Austin City Council, and the Travis County Commissioners Court., At barely five feet tall, Pat was known as a larger-than-life character who spoke truth to power and championed the historically oppressed. Her tireless efforts helped shaped Austin into the progressive community it is today.