Power Profile: Jonathan Patterson, House Majority Floor Leader

Serving as majority floor leader in the Missouri House of Representatives is no easy task. Those who have previously held the position have likened it to herding cats to water. For Rep. Jonathan Patterson, R-Lee's Summit, it is more along the lines of being a surgical intern on a busy night.

“As floor leader, you are running between offices, talking to people on all sides of the issue and trying to work out compromises. It reminds me of my days as a surgical intern, going from the emergency room to the operating room,” Patterson said. “You have to triage and make sure that you are talking to all sides of an issue and find areas of compromise.”

Patterson is a surgeon by trade. He completed his surgical residency at Truman Medical Center in downtown Kansas City and has practiced general surgery in eastern Jackson County since 2011. He has completed surgical mission trips around the world, including to the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Jordan.

His desire to help people is one of the reasons he got into public service. “As a physician, I enjoyed being able to help people on a one-on-one basis, and I think in government you are able to help larger groups of people with legislation that you pass,” Patterson said. “Public office is something I had always been interested in, even in college and my work life. So when the opportunity came, I took a good look at it and asked if I could offer something that someone might not be able to and decided that it was something me and my family wanted to do.” 

Patterson was first elected to the Missouri House in 2018 and has won subsequent re-elections. His fellow Republicans elected him to serve as floor leader for the 102nd General Assembly.

“I was very humbled to earn the trust of my colleagues,” Patterson said on his new role. “My goal is to make sure the majority party advances our agenda in a way that allows for free debate — amongst the Republicans and Democrats.”

Some items on the 2023 agenda include a focus on child care, early childhood learning, workforce development and health care. According to Patterson, these are the areas that make life better for Missourians.

With a wide range of topics being put forth before the Missouri General Assembly every year, Patterson has gotten the opportunity to learn about various issues — which is part of what makes it fun. 

“That is the fun part of being in the Legislature; learning about things you know nothing about. You just have to tackle it and get your hands dirty,” he said.

Patterson added that joining the Legislature showed him firsthand how diverse Missouri is. It is a long way from Lee’s Summit — where Patterson and his family call home — to the Bootheel. He has thoroughly enjoyed “getting to know all the different parts of the state and the different members in each region has been really interesting.”