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Noteworthy Washington women
Washington Secretary of State: Belle Culp Reeves
When Belle Culp Reeves was appointed to the office of Secretary of State in 1938, she said, "This is not only an honor to me, but to all the women of the state." Mrs. Reeves had served in the House of Representatives for 16 years before her appointment. Beginning in 1922 as a freshman legislator, Reeves served eight terms in the House and two as Secretary of State.
Belle Culp Reeves was an educator, newspaper correspondent, and lawyer during her career. She was influential in bringing many other women legislators to office. Her efforts in improving workmen's compensation laws, and especially laws aimed at working mothers during World War II testify to her commitment to women's issues. |
BELLE CULP REEVES,
1931 State of WA House of Representatives
By Vibert Jeffers
From The Susan Parish Collection. |
Washington State Senator: Reba Hurn
Washington's first woman senator, Reba Hurn, was the first woman admitted to the Washington State Bar Association in 1913 and practiced law in Spokane. She did the unimaginable by being elected to the staunchly male office of senator in 1922. Although Washington women had been voting for ten years by 1922, this was the first year they were able to cast their ballots in a presidential election.
Reba Hurn won a second term in 1926 without campaigning because of her voting record in the Senate and personal contact with constituents back home. She chaired the Public Morals and State Library committees during her two terms. |
REBA HURN,
Washington State Senator, 1923
Photo by Joe Jeffers
From the Susan Parish Collection.
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Seattle Mayor: Bertha Knight Landes
One of the political pioneers was Seattle's Bertha Knight Landes, a homemaker who first won a seat on the City Council by a landslide and then in 1926, running on a platform which stressed law enforcement, reform and morality, defeated incumbent Edwin J. "Doc" Brown to become the first woman mayor of any major American city.
Although her administration received high marks, the issue of her sex consistently superseded her accomplishments in office with an overriding sentiment that a city of stature should have a man at the helm. She summed up her political philosophy as: "To be in some degree a guiding force in the destiny of a city, to help lay the foundation stones for making it good and great, to aid in advancing the political position of women - I find it richly worthwhile." |
BERTHA KNIGHT LANDES
Provided by Special Collections Division
University of Washington Libraries #7333. |
Washington Governor: Dixy Lee Ray
Dr. Dixy Lee Ray, a native of Tacoma, is the only woman to have served as governor of the state of Washington, from 1977 to 1981. She was named by Harper's Bazaar as one of the ten most influential women in the nation. She defeated Governor Evans who had been in office for 12 years on a platform for change.
Dr. Ray took the state completly out of debt during her term and reduced taxes by $1 billion. Over a period of five decades Dr. Ray's career which began in marine biology and included being an educator, administrator, and finally a public official, all set squarely in a Man's World. |
GOVERNOR DIXY LEE RAY |
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