Haysel Diane Sands (born March 23, 1947) is an
American politician
The politics of the United States function within a framework of a constitutional federal republic and presidential system, with three distinct branches that share powers. These are: the U.S. Congress which forms the legislative branch, a bi ...
from
Montana
Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...
. As a
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
, she served in the
Montana State Senate
The Montana Senate is the upper house of the Montana Legislature, the state legislative branch of the U.S. state of Montana. The body is composed of 50 senators elected for four years.
Composition of the Senate
:''67th Legislature – 2021–20 ...
, representing the 49th senate district in
Missoula, Montana
Missoula ( ; fla, label= Séliš, Nłʔay, lit=Place of the Small Bull Trout, script=Latn; kut, Tuhuⱡnana, script=Latn) is a city in the U.S. state of Montana; it is the county seat of Missoula County. It is located along the Clark Fork ...
.
Biography
Born in
St. Ignatius, Montana, Sands obtained a
B.A.
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
in Anthropology from the
University of Montana
The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. UM reported 10,962 undergraduate and graduate students in the fa ...
before doing graduate work at
George Washington University
The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Chartered in 1821 by the United States Congress, GWU is the largest Higher educat ...
in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
Sands began her career in the
Montana State Legislature
The Montana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Montana. It is composed of the 100-member Montana House of Representatives and the 50-member Montana Senate.
The Montana Constitution dictates that the legislature meet ...
in 1996, when she was appointed as the Democratic nominee for the
Montana House of Representatives in the 66th district. The previous nominee, incumbent Rep.
Mike Kadas, had just been appointed Mayor of Missoula following the resignation of
Daniel Kemmis. She was elected, without opposition, in November 1996 and took office in January 1997. She did not run for re-election in 1998 when her employment required her to move to
Oregon
Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...
. She returned to Montana in December 1999.
In 2006, when
Tom Facey was
termed out after eight years in the House, Sands ran to succeed him in the renumbered 95th district. She faced no primary opposition and defeated her
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
opponent by 60% to 40%.
[.] She was re-elected in 2008, 2010, 2012, and 2014.
Sands was elected to the Montana Senate in 2014, succeeding the term-limited
David Wanzenried. In the 2014 general election, she prevailed over the Republican candidate, former state representative Dick Haines, by just 33 votes (50.2% to 49.8%). She ran for re-election in 2018, and defeated Republican candidate Chase Reynolds by 343 votes (51.6% to 48.4%). Her term ends in January 2023, at which point she will be term limited from the senate, although able to run for the house.
A
lesbian, she was the
first ever openly gay member of the Montana Legislature. She served alongside several other LGBT legislators, including
Sen. Christine Kaufmann and
Bryce Bennett
Bryce Bennett, (born November 11, 1984) an American politician from Montana. As a Democrat, he served in the Montana Senate from 2019 to 2021 and represented he 50th senate district based in Missoula, Montana. He previously served in the Monta ...
(D–Missoula).
[.] Her 1996 campaign won the support of the
Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund
The LGBTQ Victory Fund (formerly the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund), commonly shortened to Victory Fund, is an American political action committee dedicated to increasing the number of openly LGBTQ public officials in the United States. Victory F ...
.
[.]
Her partner,
Ann Mary Dussault, is a former
Missoula County
Missoula County is located in the State of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 117,922, making it Montana's third-most populous county. Its county seat and largest city is Missoula. The county was founded in 1860.
Missoula Coun ...
commissioner and Montana legislator. Having first assumed legislative office in 1975, she served four terms and was the first female majority leader in the nation.
[.]
References
External links
Legislative homepageDiane Sands Papers(University of Montana Archives)
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sands, Diane
1947 births
Living people
Columbian College of Arts and Sciences alumni
Lesbian politicians
LGBT state legislators in Montana
Democratic Party members of the Montana House of Representatives
People from St. Ignatius, Montana
Politicians from Missoula, Montana
University of Montana alumni
Women state legislators in Montana
21st-century American politicians
21st-century American women politicians