Donald Hay Brazier, Jr. (March 14, 1931 – October 16, 2015) was an attorney and historian from Washington State who authored two volumes on the history of the Washington State legislature. Brazier graduated from the University of Washington School of Law then served two years in the U.S. Army. After military service he returned to Washington and settled in Yakima where he worked as a private attorney before becoming an assistant U.S. Attorney. Pursuing an interest in politics he served five years on the Yakima City Council and also as Mayor Pro Tempore. He was elected as a Republican representative to the state legislature from the Washington 14th district in 1967 where he served a single term. In 1969 Brazier moved with his family to Olympia, Washington to serve as Chief Deputy Attorney General for Attorney General Slade Gorton. In 1971 Brazier was appointed by Republican Governor Dan Evans to the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission. He later served as chair of that commission. Brazier resigned from the commission in 1977 when Democratic Governor Dixie Lee Ray took office. He subsequently went to work as a Vice President and then Senior Vice President for Washington Mutual Savings Bank in the government relations and regulatory arena. In the 1982 Brazier joined fellow attorney Thomas J. Owens and formed a law partnership with an emphasis on federal and state legislative and administrative representation in Olympia, Washington and Washington, DC.
After retirement in 1992 Brazier began research for a historical account of the Washington Legislature. He authored History of the Washington Legislature 1854-1963, which was published by the Washington State Senate in 2000. Brazier authored a subsequent volume, History of the Washington Legislature 1965-1982, published in 2007 by the Washington State Senate. While the first volume was based on detailed research of historical records, the second volume was based on Brazier’s firsthand experiences and observations of Washington State politics.
Early in retirement he served two years as chair of the Washington Public Disclosure Commission at the request of Democratic Governor Mike Lowry. On March 23, 2007 a resolution (2007-4636) was passed by the Washington House of Representatives recognizing Brazier as official House Historian. He passed away in Olympia on October 16, 2015 at age 84.
External Links: History of the Washington Legislature 1965-1982 http://leg.wa.gov/Help/Documents/HistoryOfTheLeg.pdf History of the Washington Legislature 1965-1982 http://leg.wa.gov/History/Legislative/Documents/HistoftheLeg1965-82.pdf TVW Author’s Hour Interview https://www.tvw.org/watch/?eventID=2000081062 Oral History Interview http://apps.leg.wa.gov/oralhistory/interviews/DonBrazierInterview.pdf House Resolution 2007-4636 http://apps.leg.wa.gov/documents/billdocs/2007-08/Pdf/Bills/House%20Resolutions/4636-Don%20Brazier.pdf