24 Facts About Peggy Maxie

Peggy Joan Maxie was an American politician in the state of Washington.

Peggy Maxie was the prime sponsor of the Landlord-Tenant Act in Washington state.

Peggy Maxie was defeated in the primary election for her seat in 1981 by Gary Locke.

Peggy Maxie was born on August 18,1936, in Amarillo, Texas.

Peggy Maxie's parents were Cleveland, an auto mechanic, and Reba Maxie, a housewife, and she had four siblings.

Peggy Maxie's parents divorced and her mother moved the family to Seattle, Washington, in 1942, where she worked for Boeing.

Peggy Maxie attended Immaculate Conception School, graduating from the high school in 1995.

Peggy Maxie briefly studied to be a nun with the Sisters of Charity at Providence.

Peggy Maxie was encouraged to run for the Washington House of Representatives in 1970 by her family.

Peggy Maxie's brother, Fred, had considered contesting the race but ultimately decided to go to law school and campaign signs had already been printed with their surname.

Peggy Maxie ran with the support of her brother, Robert, who was active in the Democratic Party, and her campaign manager, Jim McGill, a professor at Seattle University.

Peggy Maxie won, and became the representative for position 2 in the 37th district.

Peggy Maxie was the first black woman to be elected to the Washington state legislature.

Peggy Maxie received her masters of social work from the university in 1972, completing her thesis on no-fault divorce.

Peggy Maxie filed an affidavit stating that her district had been undercounted and two years later, a federal court ordered the state to conduct its redistricting using a non-partisan map.

Peggy Maxie served on a variety of committees, including the appropriations committee, the judiciary committee, the rules committee and the insurance committee.

Peggy Maxie introduced a resolution to refer the question to a citizen's task force to study the issue and report back to the committee.

Peggy Maxie sponsored a bill that funded the construction of a new building for the University of Washington School of Social Work.

Peggy Maxie co-sponsored the Displaced Homemakers Act, along with R Lorraine Wojahn, which assisted women who lost income because of the death or disability of a spouse or following divorce.

Peggy Maxie sponored a bill to bring the first driver license testing facility to her district.

In 1981, shortly before she left office, Peggy Maxie held three legislative workshops on participatory democracy for a total of 600 people to explain the legislative process.

Peggy Maxie lost the 1982 primary election to Gary Locke.

Peggy Maxie founded Women in Unity, a non-profit organization focusing on employment and advocacy for African American women.

Peggy Maxie was interviewed by Seattle University in 2003 for an oral history project.