Harriet Spanel

Who is Harriet Spanel?

Harriet A. Spanel is a former Washington State Senator for the 40th District, which includes San Juan, northwestern Skagit and southwestern Whatcom counties. She was the Majority Caucus Chair.

She was a member of Financial Institutions, Housing & Consumer Protection, Natural Resources, Ocean & Recreation, Transportation, and Rules committees.

Spanel was born and raised on an Iowa farm; she earned a B.S. in Mathematics from Iowa State University. She is a longtime activist in local and state issues and is involved in a wide variety of organizations including the League of Women Voters.

She has lived in Bellingham since 1968 and has three grown children.

In 1994, she ran for the open Congressional seat, but lost by a 55%-45% margin against the eventual winner Jack Metcalf. Harriet Spanel announced that she would not run for re-election in 2008.