Elected Women of Washington
State Elected Women in Washington
Washington’s remarkable record of electing women to public office reflects a legacy of feminist activism. Although women had been elected to serve as county school superintendents as early as 1875, the Washington legislature passed a law in 1890 disqualifying women from public office. An early exception was made in 1895 when the legislature authorized women to serve on school boards, the state board of education, and as school superintendents. Surprisingly, the legislature did not formally repeal its general prohibition until 1963.
After the state enacted women’s suffrage in 1910, Washington women began to run for office in ever-increasing numbers. Elected in 1912 and serving in the 1913 state house of representatives, Frances C. Axtell from Bellingham and Nena J. Croake from Tacoma were the first two women to serve in the Washington State Legislature. Reba Hurn from Spokane was in 1923 the first woman elected to the state senate. Josephine Corliss Preston, elected in 1912 as Superintendent of Public Instruction, was the first woman to serve in a statewide office. From the mid 1960s on, women of color began holding office as well, with Representative Marjorie Pitter King (appointed in 1965 to fill an unexpired term) being Washington’s first black female legislator, Representative Velma Veloria the first Filipina American (elected 1992), and Senator Margarita Prentice (house, 1988; senate, 1993) the first Latina. As of this writing, over 240 women have served in the Washington legislature since 1913.
For almost 25 years Washington has consistently been a leader in electing women to the state legislature. From 1993 to 2004 Washington led the nation in the percentage of female state legislators. In 1999 and 2000 Washington boasted the highest percentage of female legislators in the nation’s history, with women making up 41 percent of its legislators. In 2011 women comprised approximately one-third of the state’s legislators.
Several women have also served as Superintendent of Public Instruction including Preston, Pearl Wanamaker from 1941 to 1957; Judith Billings from 1989 to 1997 and Terry Bergeson from 1997 to 2009.