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Sunday,
May 16, 1999
1,435 words

The Everett Herald

Camano 'Grandma' carries clout in Olympia

By DORI STUBBS Herald Writer

This onetime hairdresser and grandmother of five might be known as "Grandma" in her home on Camano Island, but at the state capital, she's known as one of the most powerful women in the Legislature.

As the first woman to ever chair the Senate Transportation Committee, Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island, will be among the most influential people in Olympia this week when the battle is staged over the transportation budget.

After 17 years in the Legislature, Haugen has learned how to get what she wants, and she wants the Senate transportation budget approved.

"There's always more than one way to get through, if blocked," Haugen said in her plush, simply decorated veteran-legislator office. "You've got to find that crack in the wall."

She doesn't think of herself as powerful, Haugen insists, just knowledgeable of issues. She says she's opinionated and a workaholic, but that she's just an ordinary person who works well with others.

Interviews with more than a dozen of her supporters and detractors confirm she's stubborn and a hard worker, but indicate she is anything but ordinary, and has made a few foes on her climb to the top.

Haugen, a conservative Democrat, was elected as a representative for the 10th Legislative District in 1982 and served in the House for 10 years.

"I had a lot to learn," Haugen recalled. "I found out the most important thing is to do your homework and know your issues."

After years of studying her craft, Haugen persuaded her constituents to let her take that knowledge to the Senate in 1993.

"Senate work is more effective; you work more as an individual," Haugen said of her chamber switch. "This helps, because you only have to get 25 votes instead of 50. That's a big difference when you consider yourself a lobbyist for your district."

Her district is her top priority, Haugen maintains, not her political persuasion. The 58-year-old senator has only one response to almost any question posed to her, no matter the intent: "The people I represent, their issues are what's important to me. My constituents, if they want it, then I want it."

"She makes some of her own caucus members angry because she could not be swayed against what her district wants," said Rep. Pat Scott, D-Everett.

Senate leaders call her a force to be reckoned with.

Senate Republican Minority Leader Dan McDonald attributes her political success to "persistence."

Her conservative slant makes her at least approachable, said McDonald, of Bellevue.

"The trick with Mary Margaret is to talk about the issues you agree with her on," McDonald said. If you disagree, she is unyielding. "I think it would probably help if she was more compromising once in a while."

"If I have something I believe in, I never give up," Haugen said. "It may take years, but I'll achieve it eventually."

Her foes try to block her.

Republican Rep. Karen Schmidt of Bainbridge Island presents one hurdle Haugen can't seem to jump over. Schmidt co-chairs the House Transportation Committee, and the two have been known to butt heads over ferry queue legislation.

The legislators' relationship is so bad, Schmidt will not even discuss working with, or against, Haugen. Schmidt's office staff said she wasn't comfortable talking about the senator.

Is there a soft side to Haugen? Sen. Val Stevens, R-Arlington, says yes, there is. "She's always been very kind to me," Stevens said. "When I need something heard, she listens."

Others report her intensity sometimes leads to tears.

"I've seen her cry a number of times in different situations," recalled Rep. Dave Anderson, D-Clinton. "She feels deeply about the people and issues of her district."

Haugen's loudest cheerleader is her husband, Basil Badley, a lobbyist for insurance companies.

"One thing she's good at is making decisions," Badley said. "Some get down here, and hell, they can't decide on anything. She doesn't wring her hands, just tries to do what's best for the public."

The two met 11 years ago when Haugen sought Badley's advice about an insurance problem.

Badley was already separated from his wife, and Haugen and her first husband separated shortly after she met Badley. The lobbyist and representative began dating immediately, and married each other a year later.

"At our age, you don't waste time," Haugen said, noting that before she met Badley, she was a more serious person. "I'm a much happier person since meeting him," she added.

Given the conservative nature of Badley's business, they both claim to stay away from each other's political issues.

"He has never asked me for a vote," Haugen said.

"We put a priority on one another," Badley explained.

Because the legislative road can be bumpy at times, Haugen says she looks forward to returning to her Camano Island home when the sessions are over.

Born on Camano Island, Haugen attended Stanwood schools and grew up on a farm. Her parents were political activists.

"Mom would have loved to run for public office," Haugen said, "but women didn't have the same opportunities back then. It was always a goal for me to do it."

Inspired by her mother, Haugen says she knew she would end up in the Legislature someday. In high school, she began her political career by serving on the student council.

After graduation, she married and had four children. She worked as a hairdresser out of her home for 25 years and dabbled in local politics, serving on the Stanwood School District board for 10 years in the 1970s.

Haugen's efforts in local politics paved the way for her 1982 election to the Legislature. She remains a favorite in her community to this day.

"When you live in one area all your life, you get a real sense of identity," Haugen said.

Camano senior citizen Carol Taintor says Haugen used to do her hair.

"The next thing I knew, we were involved with politics," Taintor said.

Taintor continues to vote and campaign for Haugen "because in her heart, Mary Margaret wants to do the best she can for her community.

"She does a good job, including being a friend. If she did a lousy job, I wouldn't vote for her."

Voters such as Taintor have given Haugen a nearly unshakable Senate seat.

Though chairing the Senate Transportation Committee put Haugen in charge of a nearly $4 billion budget and lifted her to new powerful heights, she has long been considered a specialist in local government issues. Though the Legislature has been generally a male-dominated arena, Haugen has managed to spearhead substantial legislation.

In order to protect the rural area she lives in, Haugen made growth management a top priority.

As chairwoman of the House Local Government Committee in the early '90s, she worked in a "steel magnolias" group of a half dozen women legislators and helped pass the Growth Management Act, which protects rural communities and limits growth to urban areas.

"The GMA gave force to planning," Haugen said. "I've worked hard over the years to make sure the GMA stays in place."

Haugen's colleagues say she shines most in committee. Haugen herself says committees should be where the action is, not on the floor. The female majority in the Democratic caucus of the Senate this session provides an unusual chance for women to flex some of their legislative muscle.

"Men run things out before they solve the problem," Haugen said. "Women solve problems before they move them out of committees. I feel things are getting done on the Senate side."

Committee sessions aren't the only place Haugen prevails. She also takes charge of weekly meetings with her district House counterparts.

Haugen instituted the weekly meetings several years ago. They continue with current Reps. Anderson and Kelly Barlean, R-Langley.

She's a stabilizing force within the district delegation, Anderson said. "The rest of us have come and gone, but she knows the district like nobody else."

Island County has benefited from that knowledge, said Barlean, who served on the Langley City Council for five years before joining Haugen in the Legislature.

The senator and the Republican lawmaker, naturally, do not see eye-to-eye philosophically.

"Mary Margaret has no heartburn about unfunded mandates," Barlean said, "but they hit home with me."

Despite the differences, Barlean said they work together in the weekly meetings to set partisanship aside and do what's best for the district. Barlean says he takes careful note of Haugen's power, and finds her advice helpful.

"But I'll never run against her in the Senate," he said.

Someone will have to, though, because Haugen does not intend to quit while she's ahead, and says, "I'll be back."

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