Woolsey, Lynn, 1937-

Lynn C. Woolsey (born November 3, 1937) is an American businesswoman, educator, and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, she served in the U.S. Representative for California's 6th congressional district from 1993 to 2013.

Born Lynn Carol Robinson in Seattle, Washington, she graduated from Lincoln High School there in 1955 before attending the University of Washington from 1955 to 1957. Robinson left school to marry Terry Critchett in 1958; the two divorced in 1968. Following her divorce, Woolsey found a secretarial job at a local technology company and applied for welfare assistance to help get by. She eventually became a human resources manager at the company and, in 1980, opened a personnel services firm. She married David C. Woolsey in 1971 and raised another child, Michael, but that marriage also ended in divorce. Woolsey returned to college and earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of San Francisco in 1980. Woolsey first entered politics in 1984 when she won a seat on the Petaluma city council Sonoma County. She served on the city council until 1992 and was vice mayor for the last year of her tenure.

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