Julia Butler Hansen Lunch and Learn
In 1967, Julia Butler Hansen from a tiny town along the Columbia River, became the most powerful woman in Congress. She was first woman in history to head a House appropriations subcommittee. And not just any committee: She controlled the billion-dollar budgets for the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies, including the U.S. Forest Service, the Fish & Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Bureau of Land Management.
The first major biography of the legendary congresswoman was published in January by Legacy Washington, the oral history program of the Office of the Secretary of State. Julia Butler Hansen, A trailblazing Washington politician, was written by John C. Hughes, Legacy’s chief historian. He is also a trustee of the Washington State Historical Society.
This interview with Hughes was conducted by his teammate, Bob Young, an award-winning former reporter for The Seattle Times.
Julia Butler Hansen’s rapid rise on Capitol Hill after 21 years as a power in the State Legislature came as no surprise to those who had followed her storied political career. “Overcoming male chauvinism with her competence and charisma,” Hughes writes, “she was the first woman to serve on the Cathlamet Town Council; the first woman to head the Education and Roads & Bridges committees in the State House of Representatives; the first female chairman of the 11-state Western Interstate Committee on Highway Policy, and the first female speaker pro-tempore of the Washington State House. In the twilight of her political career, she became the first woman to head the Washington State Transportation Commission.” She retired from politics in 1975, undefeated in 42 consecutive elections, including primaries.
Columnists and editorial writers dubbed her “The Duchess of Cathlamet,” “The Sage of Wahkiakum County,” “The Little Old Lady in Logging Boots” and “Mrs. Highways.” She grew up believing “girls can do anything,” Hughes writes, “even though she was from a town of scarcely 500 people.” She always said she “was raised with one fundamental belief—that you should serve your country.”
Hansen died in Cathlamet in 1988 at the age of 80. “No one ever represented her people better than Julia Butler Hansen,” said her longtime friend, U.S. Senator Warren G. Magnuson.
The 300-page book, which features nearly a hundred photos, is available for purchase for $20, plus tax and postage, through the Secretary of State’s online book store at:
https://www.sos.wa.gov/store/#/detail/99