district succeeded religion birth_place party term_end preceded birth_date term_start article_title state name
3rd linda smith theist corvallis , oregon democrat january 3 , 1995 don bonker 3 december 1931 january 3 , 1989 jolene unsoeld
 washington jolene unsoeld
jolene unsoeld

jolene unsoeld -lrb- born december 3 , 1931 -rrb- is an american politician who served as a member of the united states house of representatives from 1989 to 1995 .
she represented the third congressional district of washington as a democrat .
unsoeld was born jolene bishoprick in corvallis , oregon , on december 3 , 1931 .
she attended oregon state university from 1949 to 1951 .
she is the widow of willi unsoeld , a mountaineer and later college professor .
accompanying willi to the himalayas , she spent two years as director of the english language institute of kathmandu , nepal .
unsoeld spent the 1970s and early 1980s as the conscience of the washington state legislature .
she was one of the leaders of the campaign for initiative 276 , passed in 1972 , which created the washington public disclosure commission , and required disclosure of campaign contributions by candidates for elective office .
she was a citizen lobbyist in support of open government , including open public meetings and open public records .
in 1977 she and willi became concerned about proposed nuclear power plants , and joined in forming fair electric rates now -lrb- fern -rrb- , which was a ratepayer and environmental group that worked for many years opposing utility investment in nuclear energy , encouraging investment in energy conservation , and supporting utility rate design that rewarded consumers who used less power .
in 1984 , she ran for the office of state representative , and served two terms in the state legislature prior to running for congress in 1988 .
during her three terms in congress she worked hardest on the federal freedom of information act , but became best known for her opposition to gun control , although very liberal on other issues .
she lost her bid for re-election in the republican revolution of 1994 to linda smith .
in 2008 , the washington coalition for open government bestowed the james madison award on unsoeld .
