Ms 95

 

WOJAHN, R. Lorraine, papers, 18 linear ft.

 

Abstract: Lorraine Wojahn served as a Washington state legislator in both the House (1969-1976) and Senate (1977-2000) earning a reputation for her strong advocacy for the poor; troubled and disabled; women and children; and seniors. She was also known for her interest in public health and public awareness of preventable health threats, a patients’ bill of rights, the creation of a Department of Health, support for the Equal Rights Amendment, and many projects of benefit to Tacoma and Pierce County. As President Pro Tempore, she was the first woman Senator in Washington to preside sine die.

 

Biography: A native of Washington, R. Lorraine Wojahn (1920-) graduated from Roosevelt High School in Seattle, and attended the University of Washington, majoring in journalism. Before entering politics, Wojahn was a fashion model for I. Magnin and Company (Seattle, 1939-1942) and a clerk-typist with the United States Engineering Department [sic.] (Seattle, 1942-1943) before leaving employment to marry and raise a family. She re-entered the work force in 1954 with Rhodes Department Store in Tacoma and became a member of the Retail Clerks, Local 367.

           

Prior to her first successful political campaign for State Representative in 1968, Wojahn  served as a precinct inspector and judge at the polls (1949-1959); served several terms as the Recording Secretary of Retail Clerks, Local 367; was a member of the Citizens’ Advisory Committee to the Tacoma School Board; served as a Parent Teacher Association president and the legislative chair for the PTA;  was chair of Commission on Christian Social Concerns connected with the Trinity Methodist Church in Tacoma; was a member of the League of Women Voters; and had been a district campaign manager for a candidate running for a school board position in District 10 in 1960. She received statewide attention when she became a Field Agent for the Washington State Labor Council in 1964 and served as the Western Area coordinator for the Council’s involvement in the Committee on Political Education (COPE) and its very successful voter registration drive in Washington.

           

As a Democratic Representative, Wojahn, was known for her interest in consumer protection and social and health concerns. She served on several committees, including Judiciary, Revenue and Taxation, and Business and Profession. She continued to be involved locally, serving on the steering committee of the Tacoma Urban Coalition, a trustee of Tacoma-Pierce County Opportunity Development, Inc., and a member of the board of the Tacoma-Pierce County YWCA.

           

Wojahn served four consecutive terms in the House as a Representative from the 27th Legislative District (Tacoma / Pierce County area), before mounting a successful campaign for the Senate in 1976. In 1977 she decided to enter the Tacoma mayoral race but lost in very close election. After that loss she refocused her attention on the Senate and became one of the most respected and influential state legislators of the last quarter of the 20th century.

           

When she began her first term as a State Senator in 1977 she was one of only six women serving in the Senate. She became the first woman ever to serve on the Senate Rules Committee, which determines the fate of all the bills in the Senate; the first woman and non-attorney to be appointed to the Washington State Judicial Council; and the vice chair of the majority caucus. She eventually became Senate President Pro Tempore and became the first woman Senator to preside sine die. As a Senator, her committee assignments included Ways & Means and Labor and Commerce, and she was vice chair of the Rules and Health and Human Services committees. She also served as chair of the Senate Human Services and Corrections Committee, and was on the Legislative Budget Committee, the Washington Council for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, the Maritime Commission, the Washington State Art Commission, Displaced Homemakers Advisory Committee, and the Governor’s Advisory Committee on HIV/AIDS.

           

Wojahn continued to be active in the Tacoma / Pierce County region, serving on the board of Allenmore Hospital, Washington State Historical Society, Boys & Girls’ Clubs of Tacoma – Pierce County, and several other organizations. For her tireless efforts in the legislature and her community, Wojahn was the recipient of many honors and awards throughout her career of public service, including those from Washington Health Care Association, Washington State Coalition for the Homeless, Home Care Association of Washington, Consumer Credit Counseling Services, Washington State Academy of Ophthalmology, Washington State Public Health Association, Washington State Medical Association, Washington State Dental Association, Washington State Hospital Association, Washington Vocational Association, Washington Association of Community College Women’s Programs, Washington State Historical Society, and the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation.

           

When she retired from the Legislature in 2000, the House and Senate both passed resolutions acknowledging her work and her style during 32 years of legislative work. The resolutions highlighted her advocacy on behalf of those least able to speak for themselves, especially the poor, the troubled and the disabled; her support of issues affecting the lives of women; her involvement in the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment, as well as bills that allowed women to obtain credit on their own and gave displaced homemakers and their children a chance to start a new life; her concern about domestic violence; her efforts to protect public health, as evidenced by her sponsorship of the bill that created the Department of Health and her determination to raise public awareness of the preventable health threats posed by osteoporosis and fetal alcohol syndrome; as well as her efforts to highlight the need for childhood immunizations and mental health parity. She also was applauded for her involvement in gaining state financial support of the Washington State History Museum, the University of Washington Campus in Tacoma, and other capital projects in the Tacoma – Pierce County region with a public benefit to all the state’s residents.

           

Wojahn’s impact on the state of Washington was summarized by a March 2000 letter sent to her by a constituent:

 

“I hope you know what a strong, deep & lasting contribution you have made to the life of our state. Most of the millions of people your votes & leadership have helped will never know your name. Most of those whose live you’ve helped save & turn around in our welfare offices, clinics, hospitals, institutions, jails and prisons will never know how much more terrible their lives would have been if you hadn’t been there for them.  And many women, kids and seniors will never know the illnesses they did not have because you stood up for the public’s health.

“By showing the path you’ve chosen, you have done much more than help all those people. You have lived the meaning of public service. You have made our government something thoughtful, kind, decent & compassionate people can be proud of. You have made it something they shall support & nurture & add to. You have made the real connections between people across the state stronger. I can think of no higher achievement in public service.”

 

 

Scope and content:  The bulk of the Wojahn collection relates to her time in the Senate, particularly from the mid-1980s through 2000. However, there are two earlier series of records of substantial merit: her activity with the Washington State Labor Council and its involvement with the Committee on Political Education (COPE) from 1964-1966, and her 1977 Tacoma mayoral campaign.

           

Wojahn served as the Western Coordinator for COPE, a comprehensive attempt to increase voter registration. The records include her notes, campaign strategies, and some data relating to its success in registering voters.

           

Her unsuccessful 1977 campaign to become Tacoma’s woman mayor is well documented. Campaign related correspondence was kept with the campaign files, preserving her campaign office’s original order. This series includes results from a public opinion survey, Tacoma News Tribune ad responses, campaign flyers and literature, and information on her opponent, Mike Parker..

           

The strength of the Wojahn collection is in the correspondence and various issues / bills files created during her tenure in the Senate (1977-2000). The correspondence files, incoming and outgoing, is arranged chronologically. In most cases when she responded to a letter, the date of her response is the date used in the arrangement and the original incoming letter is filed with the response letter. Correspondence includes exchanges with her Senate and House colleagues, lobbyists, constituents, and staff or professionals providing her background information on various legislative issues.

           

The Issues files (circa 1980s-2000) also contain some correspondence specifically relating to the folder topic. Background research material, drafts and copies of legislation and various amendments, and other information relating to the topic are included together chronologically. Likewise, the Bill files (circa 1999-2000) also contain a variety of material lthat  provided background for her decision making on individual bills. A majority of the Bill files in the collection relate specifically to bills she either introduced or signed on as a sponsor. Because her Floor Bill files were incorporated into the Bill files, some folders contain her prepared remarks presented on the floor of the Senate.  Bill files are arranged by bill number, as they were in Wojahn’s office, so are not necessarily in chronological order; however, the Bill files primarily relate to legislation during the 1999 and 2000 sessions.       

 

Many of her primary interests quickly are apparent by scanning the Issues and Issues Notebook files: child care; child support; consumer issues; domestic violence, creation and refinement of the Department of Health, health care, developmental disabilities, diabetes cost reduction, fetal alcohol syndrome, HIV/AIDS, health insurance reform, in-home care, long term care, osteoporosis, patients’ rights, temporomandibular joint disorder, trauma care, labor and workforce issues, Western State Hospital Land Trust, mental health, welfare reform, and Tacoma-area projects. Since several different office filing systems were used during Wojahn’s tenure in the Legislature, if research interest is focused on identified issues, the general correspondence files should also be reviewed for the inclusive period of interest.

 

Another important component of the collection is her public speeches that shed light on her perspective on many issues. The folders titled Schedules – Wojahn  reflect the daily demands on an elected official and contain the daily schedules from early breakfast meetings, committee meetings, constituent meetings, and public appearances, to evening events and meetings and a host of other public expectations for a Senator’s time.

 

Inclusive dates:  1964 - 2000

Restrictions:  None

Volume:  18 linear feet

Accession number:  2000.178

 

FILE LISTING:

 

BOX 1:    Biography; Candidates’ Questionnaires; Correspondence (1970 – 1997)

 

1.   Biography   

2.   Questionnaires - Legislative Candidates – Wojahn  1968 - 1977

3.   Correspondence  1970 - 1973

4.   Correspondence  1973

5.   Correspondence  1979 – 1981

6.   Correspondence  1982 – 1983

7.   Correspondence  1984

8.   Correspondence  1985 – 1989

9.   Correspondence  1990 – 1993

10.  Correspondence  Jan - Feb, 1994

11.  Correspondence  March – April 1994

12.  Correspondence  May – June 1994

13.  Correspondence  July – December 1994

14.  Correspondence  Jan 1995

15.  Correspondence  Feb 1995

16.  Correspondence  March 1995

17.  Correspondence  April 1995

18.  Correspondence  May – June 1995

19.  Correspondence  July – Sept 1995

20.  Correspondence  Oct – Dec 1995

21.  Correspondence  Jan – April 1996

22.  Correspondence  May – Dec 1996

23.  Correspondence  Jan – Feb 1997

24.  Correspondence  March – April 1997

25.  Correspondence  May – Dec 1997

 

     BOX 2:       Correspondence (1998 – 2000); Hot Line Messages / Responses;

                        Awards and Honors; Recommendations for Appointments

                        (1975 – 1989)

 

1.      Correspondence  Jan – Feb 1998

2.      Correspondence  March – June  1998

3.      Correspondence  July -  Dec 1998

4.      Correspondence  Jan – April 1999

5.      Correspondence  May – Dec 1999

6.      Correspondence  Jan – Feb 2000

7.      Correspondence  March – Nov 2000

8.      Correspondence – Hot Line Messages and Responses  Jan – June 2000

9.      Correspondence – Awards and Honors – Congratulatory Letters from

Wojahn  1983 – 1998

10.  Correspondence – Thank You from Wojahn  1984 – 1999

11.  Correspondence – “Sample” Letters from Wojahn  1979 – 1991

12.  Correspondence – Thank You and Congratulatory to Wojahn  1977 – 1984

13.  Correspondence – Thank You and Congratulatory to Wojahn  1993 – 1994

14.  Correspondence – Thank You and Congratulatory to Wojahn  1995

15.  Correspondence – Thank You and Congratulatory to Wojahn  1996

16.  Correspondence – Thank You and Congratulatory to Wojahn  1997

17.  Correspondence – Letters of Condolence from Wojahn  1980 – 1999

18.  Correspondence – Constituents’ Requests  1994 – 1997

19.  Correspondence – Constituents’ Requests  1998

20.  Correspondence – Recommendations for Appointments, Offices, Positions,

and Scholarships  1975 – 1981

21.  Correspondence – Recommendations for Appointments, Offices, Positions,

and Scholarships  1982 – 1983

22.  Correspondence – Recommendations for Appointments, Offices, Positions,

and Scholarships  1984

23.  Correspondence – Recommendations for Appointments, Offices, Positions,

and Scholarships  1985 – 1986

24.  Correspondence – Recommendations for Appointments, Offices, Positions,

and Scholarships  1987 – 1989

           

            BOX 3:               Correspondence – Recommendations for Appointments (1990 – 1998);

   Correspondence – Pages, Senate (1977-1999); Washington State

                            Labor Council; Campaigns (House, Senate, Mayoral); Public Disclosure

    Forms

 

1.      Correspondence – Recommendations for Appointments, Offices, Positions,

and Scholarships  1990

2.      Correspondence – Recommendations for Appointments, Offices, Positions,

and Scholarships  1991 – 1994

3.      Correspondence – Recommendations for Appointments, Offices, Positions,

and Scholarships  1995 – 1998

4.      Correspondence – Pages, Senate  1977 – 1979

5.      Correspondence – Pages, Senate  1980 – 1984

6.      Correspondence – Pages, Senate  1985 – 1989

7.      Correspondence – Pages, Senate  1990 – 1994

8.      Correspondence – Pages, Senate  1995 – 1996

9.      Correspondence – Pages, Senate  1997 – 1999

10.  Washington State Labor Council  1964 – 1966

11.  Washington State Labor Council – Committee on Political Education (COPE) – Voter Registration Drive  1964

12.  Washington State Labor Council – Committee on Political Education (COPE) – Voter Registration Drive – Clippings  1964

13.  Campaign – House – 1968

14.  Campaign – House – 1970

15.  Campaign – House – 1972

16.  Campaign – House – 1972  Contributors’ Receipt Books

17.  Campaign – House – 1974

18.  Campaign – Senate – 1976

19.  Campaign – Senate – 1976  Contributors’ Receipt Book

20.  Campaign – Senate / Mayoral – 1976 / 1977  Contributors’ Receipt Book

21.  Campaign – Mayoral – 1977

22.  Campaign – Mayoral – 1977 – Public Opinion Survey

23.  Campaign – Mayoral – 1977 – Ad Responses (Tacoma News Tribune)

24.  Campaign – Mayoral – 1977 – Clippings

25.  Campaign – Mayoral – 1977 – Campaign Literature

26.  Campaign – Mayoral – 1977 – Contributors’ Receipt Book

27.  Campaign – Mayoral – 1977 – Contributors’ Receipt Book

28.  Campaign – Mayoral – 1977 – Public Disclosure, Finances – Mike Parker

1977 - 1978

29.  Campaign – Senate – 1980

30.  Campaign – Senate – 1980

31.  Campaign – Senate – 1992

32.  Campaign – Senate -  1996

33.  Campaign Literature - nd

34.  Public Disclosure Commission  1976 – 1977

35.  Public Disclosure Forms – Conflict of Interest  1983 – 1985

 

BOX 4:   Public Disclosure Forms; Speeches; Schedules; Committee, Senate; Task

   Force

 

1.      Public Disclosure Forms – Lobbyist Contributions and Gifts  1992 – 1994

2.      Public Disclosure Forms – Personal Financial Affairs  1982 – 1999

3.      Speeches – Child Care  1995

4.      Speeches – Consumer Protection  1960s – 1975

5.      Speeches – Domestic Violence  1995 – 2000

6.      Speeches – Education  1975 – 1993

7.      Speeches – Employment  1970

8.      Speeches – Health Care  1984 – 2000

9.      Speeches – Holiday Observances  1975

10.  Speeches – Indians.  “Government-to-Government:  A State / Tribal Accord”

Oct. 19, 1992

                        11.  Speeches – Labor & Industry  1965 – 1977

                        12.  Speeches – Legislature – Actions and Process  1969 – 2000

                        13.  Speeches – Liquor Control

                        14.  Speeches – Mayoral Race (Tacoma)  1977

                        15.  Speeches – Opening, Ribbon-Cutting.  Sears Store (Tacoma Mall)

                               Aug. 11, 1981

16.   Speeches – Pensions  1975

17.   Speeches – Poverty – Martin Luther King, Jr.  Resolutions  1994 – 1995

18.   Speeches – Senate Democratic Caucus, 1993 Legislative Priorities

Jan 19, 1993

19.   Speeches – Senate Race (State of Washington)  1976

20.   Speeches – Seniors  (nd)

21.   Speeches – Tacoma – Model Cities Program  (nd)

22.   Speeches – Taxes  1970s

23.   Speeches – Testimonials and Awards Ceremonies  1990, 1995

24.   Speeches – Women – Equal Rights / Equality  1970 – 1994

25.   Speeches – Women in Politics  1973 – 1993

26.   Speeches – Women of Vision  (Conference, Tacoma)  1990

27.   Speeches – Miscellaneous  1981 – 1985

28.   Speeches, Other Speakers  1964 – 1979

29.   Speeches, Other Speakers  1980 – 1989

30.   Speech-Making and Critiques

31.   Schedules – Wojahn  1994 - 1995

32.   Schedules – Wojahn  1996

33.   Schedules – Wojahn  1997

34.   Schedules – Wojahn  1998

35.   Schedules – Wojahn  1999

36.   Schedules – Wojahn  2000

37.   Committee, Senate (Task Force) – Health and Long Term Care

1995 – 1999

                        38.  Committee, Senate – Labor and Workforce Development  1999

                        39.  Task Force – Exploitation and Victimization of Clients – Minutes          

                                1988 – 1989

 

            BOX 5:   Issues (A - H)

 

1.      Issues – Apprenticeship and School to Work Training  1999

2.      Issues – Assault Weapons and Gun Control  1993 – 1994

3.      Issues – Centennial, State of Washington  1989

4.      Issues – Child Abuse – Prevention  1992 – 1999

5.      Issues – Child Care – Legislation  1994 – 1996

6.      Issues – Child Care – Work  1997

7.      Issues – Child / Day Care Zoning  1988-1989

8.      Issues – Child Support – Enforcement  1992 – 1994

9.      Issues – Child Support – Enforcement  Jan – Feb 1995

10.  Issues – Child Support – Enforcement  March 1995

11.  Issues – Child Support – Enforcement  April – Dec 1995

12.  Issues – Child Support – Enforcement  1996

13.  Issues – Child Support – Enforcement  1997 – 1998

14.  Issues – China – Most Favored Nation Trade Status  1994 – 1995

15.  Issues – Complaints – Denial of Student’s Graduate Admissions in

Social Work, U of W, Tacoma Campus  2000

16.  Issues – Consumer Credit Counseling Service  1992 – 1993

17.  Issues – Corrections – Progress House (Tacoma)  1996

18.  Issues – Criminally Insane – Release From Mental Institution  1993 – 1994

19.  Issues – Death and Dying   1996 – 1997

20.  Issues – Death Benefits  (Ella Mae Morris Amendment)  1989 – 1991

21.  Issues – Death Penalty – 2000

22.  Issues – Discrimination and Affirmative Action – Initiative 200

1997 – 1998

                        23.  Issues – Displaced Homemakers  1996 – 1999

                        24.  Issues – Domestic Violence  1995 – 1999

25.  Issues – Domestic Violence – Address  Confidentiality Program

                               1991 – 1994; 1998

                        26.  Issues – Domestic Violence – Marriage License Legislation Language 

       1994 – 1997

27.  Issues – Domestic Violence – Pierce County Commission Against

       Domestic Violence  1997 – 2000

28.   Issues – Domestic Violence – Silent Witness Exhibit  (Olympia)  1998

29.   Issues – Domestic Violence and Firearms

30.   Issues – Education – Puget Sound  E.S.D.  1995 – 1996

31.   Issues – Environmental – Diaper Disposal  1990 – 1991

32.   Issues – Family Preservation – Publications

33.   Issues – Fircrest Foundation  1990 – 1992

34.   Issues – Fircrest School  1996

35.   Issues – Fireworks, License to Sell  1984

36.   Issues – Gambling – State of Washington – History and Information  1994 – 2000

37.   Issues – Gambling and Casinos  1993 – 1996

38.   Issues – Gambling and Casinos – National Indian Gaming Association [1994]

39.   Issues – Gender Equity  1975 – 1998

40.   Issues – Graffiti  1995 – 1996

41.   Issues – Harassment in the Workplace -  Johnson Case  1996 – 1997

 

BOX 6:   Issues (Health, Department of; Health Care)

 

1.      Issues – Health, Public, Department of, and Environment – Legislation

(SSB 4792/SB4506)  1985 – 1986

2.      Issues – Health, Public, Department of, and Environment – Legislation

(SB 5377)  1987

3.      Issues – Health, Department of (SSB 6173/SHB 1868)  1988

4.      Issues – Health, Department of  (SB 5454/SHB 1324)  Jan – Feb 1989

5.      Issues – Health, Department of  (2SSB 5454  SB 4204  ESHB 1324)

March – Nov 1989

6.      Issues – Health Care  1997 – 1999

7.      Issues – Health Care – Board of Health, Washington State  1993 – 1996

8.      Issues – Health Care – Breast Cancer  1997 – 1999

9.      Issues – Health Care – Certificate of Need  - Protection Oversight

1996 – 1997

                        10.  Issues – Health Care – Chemicals and Poisons  1993 – 1999

                        11.  Issues – Health Care – Children  1999

                        12.  Issues – Health Care – Children’s Health Insurance  1998

                        13.  Issues – Health Care – Chemical Dependency Counselors  1995 – 1998

                        14.  Issues –Health Care – Dental  1993 – 1999

                        15.  Issues – Health Care – Diabetes Cost Reduction  1996 – 1997

                        16.  Issues – Health Care – Diabetes Cost Reduction  2000

                        17.  Issues – Health Care -  Eye Care  1993 – 1998

                        18.  Issues – Health Care – Fetal Alcohol Syndrome  1989 – 1990

                        19.  Issues – Health Care – Fetal Alcohol Syndrome  1991 – 1992

                        20.  Issues – Health Care – Fetal Alcohol Syndrome  1993

                        21.  Issues – Health Care – Fetal Alcohol Syndrome  1994

                        22.  Issues – Health Care – Fetal Alcohol Syndrome  1995 – 1999

                        23.  Issues – Health Care – Fetal Alcohol Syndrome – Exhibits

                               “When the Bough Breaks - Pregnancy and the Legacy of Addiction”

                               (Olympia)  1994

24. Issues – Health Care – Fetal Alcohol / Drug Syndrome and Effects –

 Reports and Publications  1991 – 1995

25.  Issues – Health Care – Genetic Information  1997 – 1998

26.  Issues – Health – Health Care Savings Accounts  1997

27.  Issues – Health Care – HIV / AIDS  1985

28.  Issues – Health Care – HIV / AIDS  1986

29.  Issues – Health Care – HIV / AIDS  Jan – Sept 1987

30.  Issues – Health Care – HIV / AIDS  1984

31.  Issues – Health Care – HIV / AIDS  Oct – Dec 1987

32.  Issues – Health Care – HIV / AIDS – Report.  Interim Report – Governor’s

Task Force on AIDS  December 1987

 

            BOX 7:   Issues (Health Care)

 

1.      Issues – Health Care – HIV / AIDS  Jan 1988

2.      Issues – Health Care – HIV / AIDS  Feb 1988

3.      Issues – Health Care – HIV / AIDS  March – May 1988

4.      Issues – Health Care – HIV / AIDS  June – Dec 1988

5.      Issues – Health Care – HIV / AIDS  1989