Helen Sommers: An Oral History

pg. 288 The Press
Speaker of the House and one of the most powerful
politicians in the state.
Sources:
House Journal of the Fifty-Sixth Legislature
of the State of Washington (Olympia: Washington
State House of Representatives, 1999), pp. 20-25;
“State of Washington Members of the Legislature:
1889-2009,” Washington State Legislature website
accessed July 7, 2009 (www.leg.wa.gov/documents/
common/historypage/Members_of_Leg_2009.pdf);
Joseph Turner and Peter Callaghan, “Shared Power
May Test Wills and Patience: As in 1979, Legislators
Must Learn How to Craft a State Budget with a 49-
49 Tie,” The News Tribune, November 22, 1998, p.
A-1; Beth Silver, “House Splits 49-49 Again: Results
of Last State House Race Keep Existing Balance
Between Democrats, Republicans,” Ibid., November
23, 2000, p. B-1; Thomas Shapley, “Curtain Goes up
as Balanced House Takes on New Roles: Bipartisanship,
Not Extremism, Expected to Be the Guide,”
Seattle Post-Intelligencer, January 11, 1999, p. A-1;
Shapley and Kathy George, “State House Opens
With 2 Speakers: Ballard, Chopp Share Gavel Over
Olympia’s 49-49 Split,” Ibid., January 12, 1999, p.
B-1; Shapley, “Frank Chopp Earned His Stripes:
Democrats’ Co-Speaker Won Crucial GOP Votes
on State House Floor,” Ibid., May 20, 1999, p. B-1;
Angela Galloway, “GOP’s Ballard Calling it Quits:
Lawmaker Has Been Leading Force in Olympia
since His Election in 1982,” Ibid., May 15, 2002,
p. B-1; Howard Buck, “Legislature Adjourns,” The
Columbian, July 26, 2001, p. A-1; “Democrats Take
38 th District, Control of House,” The Seattle Times,
November 10, 2001 (http://seattletimes.nwsource.
com/html/home/). By Kit Oldham, July 20, 2009
As Legislative Session Begins,
Many Faces Set To Take Spotlight
By Dionne Searcey, David Postman
Sunday, January 10, 1999
Seattle Times Olympia Bureau
Here are some people to watch in the legislative
session that begins tomorrow .
Women in the Capitol: More women are members
of the Washington statehouse this session than in
any other statehouse in the country. They make up
slightly more than 40 percent of the membership.
Forty-seven state senators are women, and they
chair 11 of the 15 Senate committees. Thirty-seven
of the 98 members in the House are women.
Although women have had a strong presence
in the Legislature for the past several sessions, the
top jobs still belong to men. And, according to
some female legislators, women are still subjected
to negative stereotypes.
Sometimes that works to a woman’s advantage,
said Sen. Darlene Fairley, chairwoman of the Labor
and Workforce Development Committee. “We’re
not seen as inherently dishonest, or a phony who’s
going to play around,” she said.
The women in power in the 1999 session are
smart and tough, said Fairley, who lives in Lake
Forest Park. “These are some of the strongest, most
aggressive people I’ve ever seen in my life,” she said.
“These women do not take prisoners.”
Dean Foster and Tim Martin: Though their
roles are mostly behind the scenes, Foster and
Martin, the co-chief clerks of the House, will be
at least partly responsible for how smoothly the
session flows.
With control of the House split 49-49, their
charge is to set up the legislative infrastructure.
“Just like any large and very complex organization,
running it can be difficult,” said Martin, a former