Harriet Rosa (née Albertsen) Spanel (January 15, 1939 – February 2, 2016) was an American politician and community volunteer. Spanel was born in Audubon, Iowa and grew up on a farm. She graduated from

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

with a bachelor's degree in mathematics in 1961. She worked as a computer programmer for the Atomic Energy Commission at the Ames National Laboratory in

Ames, Iowa Ames () is a city in Story County, Iowa, United States, located approximately north of Des Moines in central Iowa. It is best known as the home of Iowa State University (ISU), with leading agriculture, design, engineering, and veterinary medici ...

. In 1964, Spanel, her husband, and their family moved to Bellevue, Washington. In 1968, Spanel, her husband, and their family moved to Bellingham, Washington. Spanel served on the Bellingham Planning Commission and on the Bellingham Parks and Recreation Commission. She was also involved with voter registration and studied at Fairhaven College at Western Washington University. Spanel served as a Democrat in the

Washington House of Representatives The Washington House of Representatives is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, and along with the Washington State Senate makes up the legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is composed of 98 Representatives from 49 ...

from 1987 to 1993 and in the

Washington State Senate The Washington State Senate is the upper house of the Washington State Legislature. The body consists of 49 members, each representing a district with a population of nearly 160,000. The State Senate meets at the Legislative Building in Olympi ...

from 1993 to 2009. She was also the Democratic nominee for Washington's 2nd congressional district in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

to succeed retiring Democratic incumbent

Al Swift Allan Byron Swift (September 12, 1935 – April 20, 2018) was an American Emmy award–winning broadcaster and politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1979 to 1995. He represented the Second Congr ...

; she lost to former state senator

Jack Metcalf Jack Metcalf may refer to: *Jack Metcalf (footballer) (born 1991), English footballer *Jack Metcalf (rugby league) (1919–2007), Australian rugby league footballer *Jack Metcalf (politician) (1927–2007), American politician See also * Jack Metc ...

with 45.34% of the vote. Spanel died at her home in Bellingham, Washington.Gelebrating 100 Years-Women In The Legislature-Harriet A. Spanel
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References

1939 births 2016 deaths People from Audubon, Iowa People from Bellingham, Washington Iowa State University alumni Women state legislators in Washington (state) Democratic Party members of the Washington House of Representatives Democratic Party Washington (state) state senators 21st-century American women Candidates in the 1994 United States elections {{Washington-politician-stub