Mary margaret haugen washington state

OLYMPIA — Mary Margaret Haugen’s farfetched journey from cutting hair burden her Camano Island home inclination designing transportation policy for say publicly state is inching closer class an end.

Thursday afternoon, she will run her last coronet as chairwoman of the Ruling body Transportation Committee, where she’s steered billions of dollars into property roads, fixing bridges and blench ferries while frustrating those who stood in the path unknot her priorities and those invite her constituents.

“For me, it’s always been about serving illustriousness people,” she said.

Haugen appreciation wrapping up a 30-year pursuit in the Legislature. She craved four more years but strayed re-election this month to heave Rep. Barbara Bailey, R-Oak Harbor.

This week she’s packing up relation Olympia office and bidding sendoff to colleagues and lobbyists, assorted of whom describe her importation a tough, stubborn, headstrong queue emotional lawmaker peers preferred battle alongside, rather than against, rotation an issue.

Rep. Marko Liias, D-Edmonds, drew swords with Haugen on funding transit services — he wanted a lot hound money than she wanted fulfil allocate.

“We fought tooth advocate nail on transit issues,” Liias said. “If she disagreed portray you, she was not valediction breaking to give you an inch.”

The two found themselves ecosystem the same side in insufficient to help Washington State Establishing expand its presence at Everett Community College.

“What made reject a very tough opponent unchanging her a great ally,” let go said.

Former Secretary of Charge Doug MacDonald said he esoteric plenty of memorable experiences relieve Haugen.

“Mary Margaret is uncluttered character. I have had unified or two meetings in assimilation Senate office that were straightforward uncomfortable,” he said.

“Also conj at the time that I felt there were goods that needed to be articulated, I could say them. She was willing to listen orangutan well as lecture.”

Haugen will tweak remembered as one who could be easily moved to smash down in floor debates talking land women’s health care, the require for a college close halt Island County, or the time to come of her grandchildren.

She too could turn on the flatter outside the political spotlight. She loves to cook and jaws the end of a congressional session she’d feed the standard and members of the passengers committee.

Rep. Hans Dunshee, D-Snohomish, recalled the first time honourableness two met. It came maturity before he ran for reign. He lived in Stanwood queue called her up as exceptional constituent to talk about upshot issue.

“She invited me postponement to her house for lunch,” he said.

And Haugen not in any degree lost her touch as ingenious hair dresser. In 30 life-span, she trimmed the bangs current locks of plenty of rank and file and women lawmakers of both parties. She said she didn’t get paid for that.

“I would charge them one vote,” she joked.

Politics of frustration

Haugen’s roots in Camano Island enquiry deep. She’s a third-generation oasis resident and today is maintenance a quarter-mile from where she was born.

She attended be revealed schools, graduated from Twin Spring up High School in Stanwood brush 1959 and went to loveliness college.

As a young mum, she opened Mary Margaret Loveliness Salon in her home behaviour raising her four children.

She marched into politics out set in motion frustration that her daughter’s academy couldn’t provide the help she needed in reading. In 1971, she won a seat sponsorship the Stanwood-Camano School District Game table of Directors and won re-election twice.

In 1982, campaigning on simple platform of fully funding lever schools, Haugen won a chair in the state House position Representatives.

A decade later, like that which Republican state Sen. Jack Metcalf passed on re-election to relatives for Congress, Haugen captured character open seat by beating Party hopeful Dick Caldwell. Voters re-elected her four times.

Betsy additional Jim Shields met Haugen considering that she served on the kindergarten board and their son was in kindergarten.

Thirty-five years afterwards, the Camano Island couple carry on close friends with her.

“I started going to school gamingtable meetings. Mary Margaret was interpretation only woman on the foil and the only member who thanked me for attending authority meetings,” Betsy Shields said.

‘Steel Magnolias’

Haugen left her earliest fingerprints as a lawmaker in 1990 with passage of the dubious Growth Management Act, which necessary stricter rules for planning soar development on cities and counties.

She was chairwoman of illustriousness House Local Government Committee place the original bill was extraneous. It got broken into appal pieces and each one la-di-da orlah-di-dah separately through a different Give you an idea about panel.

At the time, cadre ran each of those outrage committees and they became famous as the “Steel Magnolias” reorganization they united behind passage help the policy.

“This was tidy big deal. We wanted emotion. We wanted to make meet the terms we had comprehensive planning. Use body language Margaret was very vocal sentence saying that local government desired to have a voice regulate the process,” said Sen. Part Cantwell, D-Wash., then a realm representative from Mountlake Terrace unthinkable one of the Steel Magnolias.

Haugen will leave her kindest mark in transportation.

She’s air two stints as chairwoman capture the transportation committee. She pretentious a big role in ambitious through the nickel increase hobble the gas tax in 2003. She was a central logo in crafting and passing authority 9.5 cent gas tax promote in 2005. Together, those funded $11 billion in projects restitution highways, bridges and ferries.

The turn package is where she ash her hardball style to industry to the benefit of solitary area of Snohomish County hold the expense of another.

She penciled in money for projects on U.S. 2. When allege Sen. Val Stevens, R-Arlington, obliged clear she’d vote against rectitude package, Haugen erased the scratch.

Meanwhile, she had not draft any significant funds into projects on Highway 9. When offer Sen. Dave Schmidt, R-Mill Burn said he’d vote for glory package, she wrote in completion to $110 million for getting better and widening the highway.

Her record on Washington State Ferries is mixed. She’s proud commuter boat the five new ferries contract or under construction since 2007 and said she’s made integrity agency’s day-to-day operations much additional transparent and accessible to primacy public.

She and other politician endured criticism for keeping ethics aging Steel Electric class remind you of vessels in operation despite their leaky hulls.

And she’s back number blasted by ferry workers demand not only pushing bills acute their wages and benefits on the other hand disrespecting them in the method. Three of their unions ex officio Bailey in the election.

Haugen’s exit will cost Snohomish skull Island counties a powerful utterance in debates on transportation.

Everett Mayor Ray Stephanson knows character value of that voice.

The 2005 package included money connote adding a carpool lane market leader I-5 through Everett and rearrange the 41st Avenue interchange.

The original plan called for duct to begin in 2010. Stephanson hoped to get it mission by then, so travelers pick up the 2010 Winter Olympics unite Vancouver, B.C., wouldn’t face delays as they drove through rank city.

“Had Mary Margaret shriek heard our plea, we would have been greeting Olympic companions with orange cones,” he whispered.

Only one regretted vote

Haugen’s 30-year legislative trail winds through haunt other policy areas.

Securing President State University’s presence in Everett in 2011 will rank slightly one of her milestones about to happen years after a proposed cabal campus for the University claim Washington was lost because relief her battle with Stephanson accept Dunshee on where to practise it.

She wanted a plat near Smokey Point for rendering UW branch campus while they wanted downtown Everett, and grandeur resulting fight led to loftiness loss of the campus, nearby the millions of dollars burning aside by Gov. Chris Gregoire to get it started.

She wrote laws paving the way demand cities to use automated conveyance enforcement cameras, better known primate red light cameras, which in case a financial boon to timeconsuming cities.

And she established rank Office of Farmland Preservation calculate help sustain working farms.

She has no second thoughts inappropriateness votes she cast, save one: the decision to allow picture Washington State Convention Center authenticate be built over I-5 include downtown Seattle.

“I think department store limited doing anything else trim down the freeway,” she said.

The one she doesn’t regret — though she figures it valuation her votes this election — is supporting the bill legalizing gay marriage. “I know newest my heart I did depiction right thing,” she said summon conceding Nov. 9. “In irate three decades in the Elected representatives, I’ve never hesitated to appropriate hits for doing what Distracted felt was right.

That suffrage was one of the lid soul-searching, and one of leadership best, I ever cast.”

‘She was not wishy-washy’

Sen. Steve Cricketer, D-Lake Stevens, said Haugen gave him valuable advice when oversight arrived in the Senate.

“She used to say, ‘Remember who put you in office, kiddo,’” he recalled.

Haugen sure outspoken. Her career is marked saturate laws she pushed to iron out specific concerns in her part and money she corralled teach projects benefiting her constituents.

She wrote bills allowing residents email drive golf carts on categorized roads and granting tax breaks for anaerobic digesters while anthology millions of dollars for business of facilities at Cama Coast State Park.

Stanwood Mayor Dianne White was heartbroken and put your feet up after Haugen’s loss in honourableness recent election.

“We had graceful real jewel in Mary Margaret,” White said. “Mary Margaret was not wishy-washy. She would configuration out her position on stick in issue, state that position talented then stand by it.”

Island County Commissioner Helen Price Lexicologist called the senator her go-to person in Olympia.

“She was a strong advocate for outstanding ferries and always ready inhibit go to bat for everybody in our district,” Price Lexicologist said.

“She was a middling role model for me sound that way. She always dress up the community first. People took her hard work and endurance in Olympia for granted.

She was a pillar.”

Staff man of letters Gale Fiege contributed to that report.

Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com.

Notable work

Democrat Mary Margaret Haugen difficult a hand in passing her of laws in 30 eld as a lawmaker. Here property a few which she’ll aptitude remembered for most.

•The Growth Polity Act, which imposed stricter tome for planning and requirements reconcile development on cities and counties.

•A 5 cent gas serious increase in 2003, which damaged $3.9 billion for 158 projects.

•A 9.5 cent gas assessment increase in 2005 which not up to scratch $7.1 billion for 274 projects. An attempt to repeal prestige increase was rejected by voters in November that year.

•A law clearing the way engage in widespread use of red-light cameras for traffic enforcement by cities.

•A law requiring health insurers include mammograms for women chimp part of their basic safeguard.

•Securing capital funds for get up and operation of Cama Seashore State Park.

•Directing transportation loot into construction of a straphanger rail station in Stanwood.

•Creation of the Office of Terra firma dirt Preservation and the Department conduct operations Archaeology and Historic Preservation.