# Emily Anne Staples *Minnesota state senator (DFL), 1977–1981, and Hennepin County commissioner, 1993–1995* Emily Anne Staples (née Mayer; later Emily Anne Staples Tuttle; May 3, 1929 – January 13, 2018) held a [[Minnesota Senate]] seat for District 43, in [[Hennepin County, Minnesota]], for the term running from January 3, 1977 to January 4, 1981.[^1] The Minnesota Legislative Reference Library records her as the first female DFL senator elected to the Minnesota State Senate.[^2] By the Legislative Reference Library's date, she left the [[Republican Party (United States)]] for the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party in 1973.[^3] She lost reelection in 1980 and failed in a 1990 bid for the DFL endorsement for [[Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota]]. She later won election to the [[Hennepin County Board]] of Commissioners and served from January 1993 to January 1995.[^4] ## Who Staples was born in [[Minneapolis]].[^5] She attended Washburn High School in Minneapolis and received a B.A. from the [[University of Minnesota]] in 1950. In 1981 she earned a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government on a Bush Fellowship.[^6] When first elected she lived in Plymouth and gave her occupation as home manager and community volunteer.[^7] She married Loring M. Staples Jr. in 1954.[^5] The Legislative Reference Library notes that he had been mayor of Plymouth and died in 1988, that the couple had four children, and that she married Gedney Tuttle on January 14, 1995.[^8] She died on January 13, 2018, aged 88, at United Hospital in [[Saint Paul, Minnesota]].[^5][^1] In a 2019 interview published by the Women's Foundation of Minnesota, her daughters said that her father was a lawyer whose firm closed during the Great Depression. He then became a court reporter for the *Minneapolis Journal* and took her along on assignments, including the 1934 labor strike.[^9] ## What In the 1977–1978 session she sat on four committees: Employment; Energy and Housing; General Legislation and Veterans Affairs; and Health, Welfare and Corrections.[^10] In the 1979–1980 session she chaired two subcommittees: Economic Development, under Employment, and Arts, under General Legislation and Administrative Rules. She also served on Finance, on Veterans' Affairs, and on a joint Agriculture and Natural Resources/Health, Welfare and Corrections subcommittee on nutrition.[^10] Her record lists her special legislative concerns as health and welfare, energy, metro and urban affairs, and economic development.[^11] The same record lists several state and county appointments, each with its dates left unrecorded:[^12] - the Minnesota Commission on the Economic Status of Women; - the board of the [[Minnesota Historical Society]]; - two [[Minnesota Department of Corrections]] task forces, one on juvenile justice and one on women offenders; - chair of the Hennepin County Bicentennial Commission; - the Hennepin County Library Board. One of her daughters told the Women's Foundation that the first woman elected to the Senate before her was Nancy Brataas, a Republican from Rochester. The two had been sorority sisters at the University of Minnesota and, in her daughter's account, worked together across the Senate aisle.[^9] ## When Staples was elected on November 2, 1976, and took the oath on January 4, 1977. She sat in the 70th Legislative Session, convened January 4, 1977, and the 71st, convened January 3, 1979.[^13] Her term spanned two governors: [[Rudy Perpich]], DFL, who took office on December 29, 1976, and [[Al Quie]], Independent-Republican, who took office on January 4, 1979.[^14] Before winning the Senate seat, she had run unsuccessfully in 1974 as the DFL-endorsed candidate for the [[Minnesota House of Representatives]].[^15] She ran for reelection in 1980 and was defeated in the general election.[^13] In 1990 she sought the DFL endorsement for lieutenant governor, with [[Mike Hatch]] as the candidate for governor, and did not win it.[^15] Her elected county board term ran from January 1993 to January 1995.[^4] ## Where District 43 lay in Hennepin County, and she listed Plymouth as her residence in both sessions.[^13] The Minnesota Historical Society holds finding aids for her papers as Collection 01048.[^16] The Legislative Reference Library's file on her lists two [[Star Tribune]] items, both dated January 21, 2018: an obituary and an article by Chao Xiong.[^17] ## Why The two sources in this record disagree on the year of her party change, and only one gives a reason. The Legislative Reference Library cites *Minnesota History* (Summer 2008, p. 67) and records that she switched from the Republican Party to the DFL in 1973. The Women's Foundation of Minnesota's 2019 profile gives 1974.[^3][^18] That profile states that she left after the Republican party she belonged to refused to support the Equal Rights Amendment.[^18] The legislative record, whose 1973 date is used here, gives no reason for the change.[^3] ## How much The Women's Foundation of Minnesota calls her a founding mother of the foundation and a donor for 35 years. It states that she included the foundation in her estate plans as a member of its Legacy Circle for Women & Girls. In 2019, the foundation says, it allocated $100,000 of her gift to launch a new Safety Fund.[^19] ## How many The Legislative Reference Library counts 1,463 total days of Senate service.[^11] The Women's Foundation profile credits her with service on more than 50 boards.[^20] ## In the Minnesota record ### When The project's Time Table row TL-0276 records three things for 1974: her departure from the Republican Party over the Equal Rights Amendment, her move to the DFL, and authorship of the first [[Pay equity]] law. The row cites her Legislative Reference Library record.[^21] That record differs on each point:[^21] - it dates the party change to 1973; - it places her first election to the Legislature in 1976, after a 1974 House defeat; - it does not mention pay equity or any law she authored. The record here therefore does not establish the pay equity authorship.[^21] ## Notes [^1]: Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, *Legislators Past & Present: Emily Anne "Tuttle" Staples* (member record, retrieved 2026) — date of birth 5/3/1929, date of death 1/13/2018, former name Mayer, Senate District 43, Hennepin County, term 1/3/1977 to 1/4/1981. https://www.lrl.mn.gov/legdb/fulldetail?id=10650 [^2]: Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, *Legislators Past & Present: Emily Anne "Tuttle" Staples* (member record, retrieved 2026) — General Notes: first female DFL senator elected to serve in the Minnesota State Senate. https://www.lrl.mn.gov/legdb/fulldetail?id=10650 [^3]: Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, *Legislators Past & Present: Emily Anne "Tuttle" Staples* (member record, retrieved 2026) — General Notes: former Republican who switched to the DFL in 1973, citing *Minnesota History*, Summer 2008, p. 67. https://www.lrl.mn.gov/legdb/fulldetail?id=10650 [^4]: Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, *Legislators Past & Present: Emily Anne "Tuttle" Staples* (member record, retrieved 2026) — lost 1980 reelection; unsuccessful 1990 bid for DFL lieutenant governor endorsement; Hennepin County Board of Commissioners, 01/1993 to 01/1995, marked "[Elected]". https://www.lrl.mn.gov/legdb/fulldetail?id=10650 [^5]: Wikipedia contributors, *Emily Anne Staples* (revision 1365563128, retrieved October 27, 2026) — born in Minneapolis; married Loring M. Staples Jr. in 1954; died aged 88 at United Hospital, Saint Paul. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily_Anne_Staples [^6]: Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, *Legislators Past & Present: Emily Anne "Tuttle" Staples* (member record, retrieved 2026) — Education: Washburn High School; University of Minnesota B.A. 1950; Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government, M.P.A., Bush Fellowship, 1981. https://www.lrl.mn.gov/legdb/fulldetail?id=10650 [^7]: Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, *Legislators Past & Present: Emily Anne "Tuttle" Staples* (member record, retrieved 2026) — city of residence (Plymouth) and occupation (Home Manager/Community Volunteer) when first elected. https://www.lrl.mn.gov/legdb/fulldetail?id=10650 [^8]: Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, *Legislators Past & Present: Emily Anne "Tuttle" Staples* (member record, retrieved 2026) — Family Relationships: Loring M. Staples, Jr., mayor of Plymouth, died 1988; four children; married Gedney Tuttle January 14, 1995. https://www.lrl.mn.gov/legdb/fulldetail?id=10650 [^9]: Women's Foundation of Minnesota, *Emily Anne Staples Tuttle: Reflections on an Extraordinary Life* (May 8, 2019) — interview with her daughters: her father's work at the *Minneapolis Journal*, the 1934 strike, Nancy Brataas. https://www.wfmn.org/emily-anne-staples-tuttle-reflections-on-an-extraordinary-life/ [^10]: Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, *Legislators Past & Present: Emily Anne "Tuttle" Staples* (member record, retrieved 2026) — committee assignments, 70th (1977–1978) and 71st (1979–1980) sessions, including the two chairs. https://www.lrl.mn.gov/legdb/fulldetail?id=10650 [^11]: Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, *Legislators Past & Present: Emily Anne "Tuttle" Staples* (member record, retrieved 2026) — special legislative concerns; total days served, 1463. https://www.lrl.mn.gov/legdb/fulldetail?id=10650 [^12]: Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, *Legislators Past & Present: Emily Anne "Tuttle" Staples* (member record, retrieved 2026) — Other Government Service: state and county appointments, with dates recorded as "19??". https://www.lrl.mn.gov/legdb/fulldetail?id=10650 [^13]: Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, *Legislators Past & Present: Emily Anne "Tuttle" Staples* (member record, retrieved 2026) — session details: elected 11/2/1976, oath 1/4/1977, sessions convened 1/4/1977 and 1/3/1979, District 43, Hennepin, residence Plymouth, defeated in general election. https://www.lrl.mn.gov/legdb/fulldetail?id=10650 [^14]: Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, *Minnesota Governors, 1849-Present* (retrieved 2026) — Rudy Perpich (DFL) assumed office 12/29/1976; Al Quie (Independent-Republican) assumed office 1/4/1979. https://www.lrl.mn.gov/mngov/gov.aspx [^15]: Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, *Legislators Past & Present: Emily Anne "Tuttle" Staples* (member record, retrieved 2026) — unsuccessful 1974 run as DFL-endorsed House candidate; unsuccessful 1990 run for DFL lieutenant governor endorsement with Mike Hatch as governor. https://www.lrl.mn.gov/legdb/fulldetail?id=10650 [^16]: Minnesota Historical Society, *Emily Anne Staples Tuttle finding aids, Collection 01048* (undated) — finding aid for her papers. https://storage.googleapis.com/mnhs-finding-aids-public/library/findaids/01048.html [^17]: Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, *Legislators Past & Present: Emily Anne "Tuttle" Staples* (member record, retrieved 2026) — Articles & Books About: two *Star Tribune* items dated January 21, 2018. https://www.lrl.mn.gov/legdb/fulldetail?id=10650 [^18]: Women's Foundation of Minnesota, *Emily Anne Staples Tuttle: Reflections on an Extraordinary Life* (May 8, 2019) — states that she left the Republican party for the DFL (1974) when the party refused to support the Equal Rights Amendment. https://www.wfmn.org/emily-anne-staples-tuttle-reflections-on-an-extraordinary-life/ [^19]: Women's Foundation of Minnesota, *Emily Anne Staples Tuttle: Reflections on an Extraordinary Life* (May 8, 2019) — founding mother; 35-year donor; Legacy Circle estate gift; $100,000 allocated to launch a new Safety Fund. https://www.wfmn.org/emily-anne-staples-tuttle-reflections-on-an-extraordinary-life/ [^20]: Women's Foundation of Minnesota, *Emily Anne Staples Tuttle: Reflections on an Extraordinary Life* (May 8, 2019) — service on more than 50 boards. https://www.wfmn.org/emily-anne-staples-tuttle-reflections-on-an-extraordinary-life/ [^21]: Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, *Legislators Past & Present: Emily Anne "Tuttle" Staples* (member record, retrieved 2026) — the source cited by Time Table row TL-0276; records the party change in 1973, the 1974 House defeat and the 1976 Senate election; contains no reference to pay equity. https://www.lrl.mn.gov/legdb/fulldetail?id=10650