Maude Sweetman (October 31, 1877 – June 19, 1943) was an American politician who served as a member of the

Washington House of Representatives The Washington House of Representatives is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, and along with the Washington State Senate makes up the legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is composed of 98 Representatives from 49 ...

from 1923 to 1931. She represented

Washington's 44th legislative district Washington's 44th legislative district is one of forty-nine electoral district, districts in Washington (state), Washington state for representation in the Washington State Legislature, state legislature. The district covers a large area mostly e ...

as a Republican, and was the first woman from

King County King County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Washington, and the 12th-most populous in the United States. The county seat is Seattle ...

elected to the legislature. She was the primary sponsor in 1929 of a bill to enact corporate and individual

income tax An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...

es, which passed both houses of the legislature and would have gone to the voters had it not been ruled

unconstitutional In constitutional law, constitutionality is said to be the condition of acting in accordance with an applicable constitution; "Webster On Line" the status of a law, a procedure, or an act's accordance with the laws or set forth in the applic ...

by the

Washington Supreme Court The Washington Supreme Court is the highest court in the judiciary of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. The court is composed of a chief justice and eight associate justices. Members of the court are elected to six-year terms. ...

. She served on numerous committees in the legislature, including as chair of the State Charitable Institutions Committee in the 1929 to 1931 term. She was one of a number of important women legislators who received political assistance from Belle Reeves, a fellow legislator and later Washington's first female Secretary of State. In 1927, after three terms in the legislature, she published her book ''What Price Politics: the Inside Story of Washington State Politics''. She was married and had three sons.

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