Marion E. Hay

Marion E. Hay

Marion E. Hay (born December 9, 1865 in Adams County , Wisconsin , † November 21, 1933 in Spokane , Washington ) was an American politician and from 1909 to 1913 the seventh governor of the state of Washington.

Early years

Hay attended Bayless Commercial Business College in Dubuque ( Iowa ). In 1888 he moved to the Washington Territory , where he worked in various economic fields and became a respected businessman. Among other things, he was the owner of a grain farm in Canada. Hays was twice elected mayor of the city of Wilbur . In 1908 he moved to Spokane. In the same year he was nominated by the Republican Party for the office of lieutenant governor of Washington and was also elected to this office by the electorate.

Washington governor

Governor Samuel G. Cosgrove had suffered a heart attack prior to his inauguration and could not even finish his speech on inauguration. The very next day he went on convalescence leave to California, and Lieutenant Governor Hays was entrusted with the management of official business. After Cosgrove's death on March 28, 1909, he was officially his successor, with the task of ending his term of office, which ran until January 1913. As governor, Hay set up a committee of inquiry to expose corruption in the civil service. Some constitutional changes were also implemented during his reign. This included the possibility of removing elected officials in the event of violations of the law. Citizens' petitions were also allowed, and in 1910 women's suffrage was introduced in Washington State. That was nine years before it was made law at the federal level. In 1909, Mount Olympus National Park was opened and the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exhibition was held in Seattle. In 1912, Hay's attempt to be confirmed in office failed.

Another résumé

After the end of his tenure, Hay returned to Spokane. There he became president of an Agricultural Credit Corporation . Hay then no longer appeared politically. He died in 1933. He was married to Elizabeth L. Moore, with whom he had six children.

Web links

• Marion E. Hay in the database of the National Governors Association (English)