Women and Politics

Celinda Lake, Sam Bennett, Jennifer Brunner

WCF held a fabulous (if I do say so myself) Rooftop Reception in DC last night. Thanks to IBEW and Rick Diegel, we had an amazing rooftop venue to officially introduce our new president, Siobhan “Sam” Bennett to the community. The turnout was amazing, and we had the honor of meeting some great candidates, elected officials, and members of top sister allied organizations working for women.

Celinda Lake of Lake Research Partners introduced our sister organization, WCF Foundation’s Vote With Your Purse update. The common theme throughout Celinda and many of the speaker’s remarks was that the increase of women’s political giving is essential to achieving gender parity in this country.

Ohio Secretary of State and WCF endorsed US Senate candidate Jennifer Brunner gave an inspiring speech - noting how WCF was one of her first national endorsements that really made a difference for her. She said she runs because, in the end, it’s all about public service and making a difference. She’s the first woman to serve as Secretary of State in Ohio, and her state has never had a woman governor or Senator.

Amy Philips from the Girl Scouts delivered amazing remarks, which were truly an inspiration to everyone - even the women in attendance who she looks up to:

“In 2006, only 16 percent of Congress was made up of women. Now in 2009, Congress is made up of only 17% women. At this rate, I’ll be 100 before gender parity is reached. The odds are stacked against me, but with leaders like Sam Bennett, I believe that the percentages in women’s favor can rise rapidly.”

Edie Fraser and Sam Bennett

Sam and WCF staff were thrilled to have the opportunity to chat with Edie Fraser, Feminist Majority Political Director Alice Cohan, WCF endorsed candidate for VA House of Delegates Jeanette Rishell, Hon. Debra Carnahan, PA-16 Congressional candidate Lois Herr, and Rep. Dina Titus (NV-3).

Also, a lot of great organizations were represented, including: Rachel’s Network, Planned Parenthood, NARAL Pro-Choice America, Women & Politics Institute, League of Women Voters, Women’s Information Network, National Women’s Political Caucus, DC Youth Advisory Council, Women’s Action for New Directions, DCCC, ProgressiveBlue.com, Democracy in Action/Wired for Change, National Network to End Domestic Violence, and many more.

Thanks so much to everyone who came out - make sure you check out our pictures! We look forward to hosting similar events in the future and bringing together these great leaders and organizations to make a difference in our country’s political landscape. Stay tuned for video from the event!

UPDATE: Check out this fabulous review of the event by Sanam Toosi on Ask Miss A.

Tags: celinda lake, dc rooftop reception, edie fraser, event, feminist majority, girl scouts, ibew, Jeanette Rishell, jennifer brunner, Vote With Your Purse, WCF foundation, Women & Political Giving