Agnes Kehoe
Agnes Kehoe (Mrs. Thomas E.) (Democrat) represented
[the 3rd] district of Spokane County in the House of
Representatives. First elected in 1938, she
served four terms.
Born 1874, in Iowa, Kehoe lived in
Hillyard and Spokane. She and her husband,
Thomas, operated a hardware store in
Hillyard, where he was once mayor. Kehoe
was also a welfare worker whose fund raising
was so successful she was known as "a one
woman social service bureau."
Kehoe was asked by both Democrats and Republicans to run for the Legislature,
but her husband objected and said he
wouldn't vote for her. After Kehoe won the
election he gave in and gave her his full
support.
In the Legislature, Representative
Kehoe continued her efforts to help the
needy, and sponsored legislation that
appropriated money for social services
throughout Washington. In 1939, a
newspaper commentary acknowledged her
to be " ... not merely a legislator, but a one
woman institution."
--Political Pioneers, The Women Lawmakers