Wilma Webb
First Lady of Denver
In office
July 15, 1991 – July 21, 2003
Preceded byEllen Hart Peña
Succeeded byHelen Thorpe
Member of the Colorado House of Representatives
from the 8th district
In office
1980–1993[1]
Personal details
Born1944 (age 79–80)
Denver, Colorado, U.S.
SpouseWellington Webb (m. 1969)
Children4

Wilma J. Webb (born 1944) is an American politician who was a member of the Colorado General Assembly from 1980 to 1993. A Democrat, she represented Denver County in the Colorado House of Representatives.[2] She sponsored dozens of bills including school reform and equality initiatives. She is best known for sponsoring legislation that adopted Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday as a Colorado state holiday before it became the federal Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday, and for her efforts to educate the young about King's legacy.[3]

Early life and education

Webb was born in Denver, Colorado, to Faye and Frank Gerdine. She attended the University of Colorado Denver without obtaining a degree.[4] As a state legislator, she attended the Harvard Kennedy School in 1988.[5]

Career

She married Wellington Webb in 1969. He later became the first African American mayor of Denver, in office from 1991 to 2003.[5] She was the first First Lady of Denver to have held political office herself.[6]

During her time in the Colorado House of Representatives, she became the first African-American member of the legislature's Joint Budget Committee (the legislature's most powerful six-member committee), helping write the state's $4 billion budget in 1981,[1]

She has been recognized by several organizations including the National Education Association. She was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 1991.[1]

Personal life

She and her husband have four adult children. She is a member of Zion Baptist Church of Denver, Colorado, and of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority.

References

  1. ^ a b c "Inductee Name: Wilma J. Webb". Colorado Women's Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2023-04-18.
  2. ^ http://www.strongsisters.org/women-who-served-in-the-colorado-house-of-representatives/
  3. ^ "Shun violence, Wilma Webb pleads". Denver Post. January 17, 1994. Retrieved May 1, 2011.[dead link]
    - "King Day came early for Wilma Webb". Rocky Mountain News. January 18, 1983.
  4. ^ Yvonne Tollette Wallace (July 23, 2007). "Wilma J. Webb (1943- )". Black Past.
  5. ^ a b "The Honorable Wilma J. Webb". The HistoryMakers. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
  6. ^ "Wilma Webb city's first First Lady with a resumé in politics". Denver Post. July 2, 1991. Retrieved May 1, 2011.[dead link]



Categories