Julia Butler Hansen: A Trailblazing Washington Politician

"Julia Butler Hansen was undefeated in 42 consecutive elections— from the Cathlamet Town Council to the US Congress. In the 1960s three Washington politicians were household names: Scoop, Maggie and Julia."

The story of Congresswoman Julia Butler Hansen, a small-town suffragist's daughter who became one of the most powerful and influential women in US Congress. Shepherding through Congress bills worth billions for the Pacific Northwest, Hansen was an equal rights pioneer, becoming the second woman and first Democratic woman elected to Congress from Washington, as well as the first woman in history to head a congressional appropriations subcommittee in 1967. After retiring in 1975, Hansen went on to become the first woman to head the Washington State Transportation Commission. 

U.S. Senator Warren G. Magnuson, my mentor in politics, once observed, “No one ever represented her people better than Julia Butler Hansen.” When I became Senator Magnuson’s aide in 1968, Julia was the most powerful woman in Congress as chairman of the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee—a post I was destined to hold. Julia was one of the most skillful legislative tacticians I’ve ever known, and a remarkable politician who advanced the cause of equal rights with her inimitable gumption. This is a wonderful biography by John Hughes, who knew her well. — Norm Dicks, former member of Congress

• Download Julia Butler Hansen (PDF)
• KCLS Author Talks- John C. Hughes on his bio of Julia Butler Hansen (via YouTube)
• Columbia Conversations: Julia Butler Hansen (Podcast, via YouTube)