Although he served little time as a public official, Russell Austin was an active King County, Washington, Republican party leader from the 1960s through the 1980s. Born in 1930, Austin received his B.A. from the University of Washington in 1953. He then served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War, and after his release in 1955 he became active in the Republican party. During this period Austin returned to the University of Washington, where he earned his law degree in 1964. During most of his career he worked as a partner in the Seattle law firm of Rutherford, Kargianis & Austin.
In 1966 Austin ran for the State House of Representatives and lost. However, after this defeat he became even more active in the Republican party and began serving on many different committees and delegations. He attended numerous national Republican party conventions between 1964 and 1980, he was active in promoting Ronald Reagan for president in 1968 and 1976, and he served on the King County Central Committee of the Republican party in the late 1960s, the Sea-Tac Republican Club, and the Washington State Central Committee of the Republican party.
In February 1980 Austin was appointed to fill an unexpected vacancy in the state House of Representatives, but he did not win the election for that post in the following November.
From the guide to the Russell A. Austin papers, 1964-1983, (University of Washington Libraries Special Collections)
