Wilma Webb

Wilma J. Webb (born 1944) is an American politician who was a member of the Colorado General Assembly from 1980 to 1993. 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.[2]

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 78–79)
Denver, Colorado, U.S.
SpouseWellington Webb (m. 1969)
Children4

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.[3] As a state legislator, she attended the Harvard Kennedy School in 1988.[4]

Career

She married Wellington Webb in 1969. He later became the first African American mayor of Denver, in office from 1991 to 2003.[4] She was the first First Lady of Denver to have held political office herself.[5]

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. "Inductee Name: Wilma J. Webb". Colorado Women's Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2023-04-18.
  2. "Shun violence, Wilma Webb pleads". Denver Post. January 17, 1994. Retrieved May 1, 2011.
    - "King Day came early for Wilma Webb". Rocky Mountain News. January 18, 1983.
  3. Yvonne Tollette Wallace (July 23, 2007). "Wilma J. Webb (1943- )". Black Past.
  4. "The Honorable Wilma J. Webb". The HistoryMakers. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
  5. "Wilma Webb city's first First Lady with a resumé in politics". Denver Post. July 2, 1991. Retrieved May 1, 2011.



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