Jeannette Hayner
First Senate Majority Leader
1979-1992
“I was confident I could do it; it never occurred to me that I couldn’t.”
- Jeannette Hayner
Even in her later years, Walla Walla Republican Jeanette Hayner maintained an energetic
and purposeful walk. She’s a mix of self assurance and traditionalism, a cross between
tough and conciliatory. Her charming personality offsets the unusual discipline
she brought to her caucus as Senate Majority Leader.
The rights and status of women have changed dramatically in Hayner’s lifetime. She
was born in 1919, just a year before American women won the right to vote. In 1942,
Hayner and one classmate were the lone female graduates of the University of Oregon
Law School. Now 91, Hayner was recently able to witness the country nearly choosing
a woman as the Democratic nominee for U.S. President.
Hayner fell in love with H.H. “Dutch” Hayner, a law school classmate and World War
II hero. The two settled in Walla, Walla Washington, and raised three children.
Hayner began dabbling in politics, serving on the school board and working campaigns.
In 1972, she won a seat in the State House. She switched chambers in 1976, where
she remained until she retired in 1992, ending 20 years of public service.
The Walla Walla State lawmaker spent most of her legislative career in leadership.
The Republicans had bided time in the minority for more than a quarter-century when
Hayner took the reins as the powerful Senate Majority Leader in 1981. State Senator
Peter von Reichbauer had switched political parties, putting the Republicans in
the majority.
Hayner implemented the famous “Rule of 13” – a policy that forced all Republicans
in the 25-member caucus to support a bill or issue favored by 13 members.
Jeannette Hayner, 91, died November 26, 2010 in Walla Walla.