A Brief Biography, 1906-1999
Introduction to Web Edition
Photographs

A Brief Biography, 1906-1999

Charles Hodde became an institution in the halls of the state Capitol Building, where he held court over coffee in the public cafeteria on all manner of legislative and political issues. His stories stretched back to his days as a Grange lobbyist in the early 1930s and covered all the ensuing eras when he served as a state representative, Speaker of the House, gubernatorial candidate and agency director. Although he sometimes introduced himself as “dirt farmer,” Charlie was a superb legislative strategist, a tax expert and a gifted administrator.

Born in Missouri in 1906, he describes a boyhood on a hardscrabble farm and his later adventures looking for work as he explored the country. He arrived in Colfax in 1929, married and settled into a life of farming and logging. Soon, he was drawn into work of the Grange and was involved in their campaigns for tax reform, public power and the blanket primary. He gained a reputation in Olympia that led to his election as a representative in 1937, again in 1943 and subsequent sessions until he rose to the Speakership for the terms of 1949 and 1951. He then ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1952. He returned for a time to Grange work and running his electric wiring business and farm, but was soon tapped by Governor Rosellini to head the state Tax Commission as the chief revenue offi cer of the state. Later, he also was appointed by Rosellini as director of General Administration to create a new statewide purchasing system. In 1965, Hodde was then appointed the Northwest Regional Coordinator for the Federal Department of the Interior.

Hodde served in many capacities throughout his life, informally as an advisor to successive governors, formally as a member of the Governor’s Council of Economic Advisors. He was often called upon to serve on committees dealing with tax reform and other issues. He served on the Toll Bridge Authority, was involved in the planning for the East Capitol Campus, and chaired the River Basin Commission. He acted as a consultant on reclamation issues, energy questions and several other questions before the Legislature. In 1977, Governor Dixy Lee Ray appointed him Director of Revenue.

Later, Hodde acted as a lobbyist for various groups and causes, always keeping abreast of issues and dropping by the offi ces of decision-makers to share his store of wisdom and experience. Whether in a suit and tie or farmer’s overalls, his stories and views were listened to with respect and some degree of awe. He could regale his audience with details of some Depression-era campaign as easily as current-day struggles with public policy. Although he passed away in 1999, he is still missed and often quoted; he was a master politician and public servant.

Introduction to Web Edition

Charles Hodde was interviewed in 1983 in a “series of preliminary interviews” for a pilot project sponsored by the State Archives. In the 1985 introduction to that interview, archivist Timothy Frederick noted that “the brief history of Washington State government spans one hundred and thirty years and it is only in the last fi ve years that we as a state have begun to actively pursue the preservation of our legislative archival records. Much has been lost…our one remaining historical resource is the former legislators themselves.” Thus the Legislative Oral History Project was launched, the forerunner of this Program.

Along with other early legislators, Charles Hodde was interviewed again in 1986, and a transcript printed that year which we have reproduced here for greater accessibility. The interviewer for that project was Jack Rogers. Original copies of the interview are available in the Washington State Archives.

We would like to thank volunteer Cathy Palmer for generously giving her time and skill to retype the second Hodde manuscript. Charles Hodde continued to be active in state government. The Legislative Advisory Committee, which reviews and directs the work of the Oral History Program, considered his story to be incomplete even with these two attempts to document Hodde’s extensive career. They authorized another interview series to cover topics not previously discussed. This third volume was published in 1997. Sharon Boswell is the interviewer.