Hansen, Julia Butler, 1907-1988

<p>Julia Butler Hansen (June 14, 1907 – May 3, 1988), born Julia Caroline Butler in Portland, Oregon, served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1960 to 1974. She represented Washington's Third Congressional District as a Democrat. She was the second woman and first Democratic woman elected to Congress from Washington.</p>

<p>Her father, Donald C. Butler, was sheriff of Wahkiakum County and her mother, Maude Eliza (Kimball), was named Washington's "Mother of the Year" in 1960. Hansen attended public school in Washington. She attended Oregon State College from 1924 to 1926, and graduated from the University of Washington (Seattle) with a Bachelor of Arts in home economics in 1930.</p>

<p>Hansen's political career began as a member of the Cathlamet, Washington, city council, where she served from 1938 to 1946. She served in the Washington State Legislature as a member of the State House of Representatives from January 1939 until November 1960, serving as the first woman speaker pro tempore from 1955 to 1960. She served as chairman of the Western Interstate Committee on Highway Policies for 11 western states from 1951 to 1961.</p>

<p>Julia Butler Hansen’s seven terms in the House capped a 43-year career in elective office on the city, state, and federal level. Her legislative interests focused on issues affecting western states, such as transportation infrastructure, resource management, and improving the quality of life of Native Americans. As the first woman to chair an Appropriations subcommittee, Hansen thoroughly enjoyed the workings of Congress, once commenting, “I have a knack for legislation, and I like the rough and tumble of legislation.” Admired by her House colleagues, Congresswoman Hansen chaired a Democratic Caucus committee in 1974 which recommended procedural reforms that reined in committee powers and made exclusive committees more accessible to junior Members.</p>

<p>Julia Carrie Butler was born in Portland, Oregon, on June 14, 1907. Her father was a carpenter and her mother a schoolteacher. “I was raised by my mother and my New England grandmother, who believed that idle hands were the devil’s workshop and I was always raised to keep busy,” she recalled. Julia Butler attended Oregon State College from 1924 to 1926, and while working as a dietician and swimming instructor, eventually graduated from the University of Washington in 1930 with a degree in home economics. Two years before marrying blacksmith Henry Hansen in July 1939, she was elected to the city council of Cathlamet, Washington, where she served until 1946. The lack of a transportation infrastructure in Washington state brought Hansen into politics: “You couldn’t help but be interested in transportation when you came from this area because we did not have a road in or out of here until 1930,” she recalled. Between 1939 and 1960, Julia Hansen served in the Washington state house of representatives, eventually rising to speaker pro tempore from 1955 to 1960 and chairing several committees: education; highways; and elections and privileges. One of the major transportation projects that Hansen helped develop was the state’s extensive ferry system. She also chaired the Eleven Western States Highway Policy Committee from 1951 to 1960, managed a title and casualty insurance business from 1958 to 1961, and, all the while, helped to raise her only child, David.</p>

<p>In 1960 Hansen won the Democratic primary for the special election to fill the southwestern Washington seat held by Representative Russell Vernon Mack, who had died in office. On November 8, 1960, Hansen defeated Republican Dale M. Nordquist, 53 to 47 percent, to fill Mack’s unexpired term in the 86th Congress (1959–1961). On the same November 8 ballot, Hansen prevailed by the same margin against Nordquist for the full term to the 87th Congress (1961–1963). Hansen’s election was impressive, considering that she was one of just two Democrats from Washington who won election to the House in the 87th Congress. Representative Donald Hammer Magnuson had won by fewer than 200 votes in his Seattle district and, in the presidential balloting, Richard M. Nixon led John F. Kennedy by about 30,000 votes statewide. In Congresswoman Hansen’s six subsequent bids for re-election, she was never seriously challenged, winning with a range from 57 to 70 percent of the vote, including a 66-to-34 percent win in her final campaign in 1972.</p>