Women and Politics

This post was written by WCF Fellow, Stephanie Glover

Congratulations, Martha. After winning the Massachusetts Democratic primary, you are on your way to becoming the first female senator from Massachusetts!

Massachusetts participated in an historic vote yesterday as voters went to the polls for a special election to fill the late Senator Ted Kennedy’s seat. In the Democratic stronghold of Massachusetts, Martha’s win in the Democratic primary makes her strongly favored to win the general election next month. This would be a monumental win as Massachusetts has never had a female senator or governor in their 221 year-old history. This is about to change!

In her victory speech last night, Martha talked about the challenges facing women running for office, specifically in Massachusetts: “They said women don’t have much luck in Massachusetts politics – we believed, that it was quite possible that that luck was about to change!” And, that luck is changing with Martha on her way to the general election.

Martha’s victory couldn’t have come at a more important time, when crucial issues affecting women are being debated in the Senate and House. The Senate will benefit greatly from her voice and perspective. Martha is committed to reproductive choices and recently said about women’s health care, “It’s personal with me, and it’s personal with every woman.” As a WCF-endorsed candidate, Martha is a leader on these issues and will make a strong addition to the Senate.

Currently, women make up only 17% of the United States Senate, even though they represent over 50% of the population. Martha’s election would bring that percentage up to 18%, making us one step closer to equality. As MA Senator John Kerry said, “Tonight the glass ceiling in Massachusetts politics was smashed into a thousand pieces.”

The post was written by WCF Fellow, Stephanie Glover

Women stand to gain a lot from health care reform and women in Congress are leading the charge to make comprehensive health care a reality for all Americans. Responding to the Stupak amendment is a top priority for many legislators; the Stupak amendment drastically reduces the availability of reproductive health care and any law that includes such an amendment can no longer be considered comprehensive.

Not surprisingly, the women of Congress are leading the movement to oppose the Stupak amendment. Over 40 House Democrats have signed a letter to Speaker Pelosi pledging to vote against any health care bill that includes the Stupak amendment. Who’s circulating this letter? Why, yes, it is a woman. Representative Diane DeGette of Colorado. The signatories have not yet been released, but I’m willing to bet there is a high percentage of women on that list, too.  The letter states:

As Members of Congress we believe that women should have access to a full range of reproductive health care. Health care reform must not be misused as an opportunity to restrict women’s access to reproductive health services…We will not vote for a conference report that contains language that restricts women’s right to choose any further than current law.

Other leading women in the House of Representatives have echoed this sentiment. Representative Debbie Wasserman-Schultz “threw the down gauntlet” on MSNBC when she said she’s “confident” the amendment will not be attached to the final bill. And, she plans to work hard to make sure this is the outcome.

This amendment specifically targets health care that applies to women, so it makes sense that women are leading the opposition to it. If only there were more women in Congress, perhaps we wouldn’t have an amendment to oppose.

Hearing Representative Wasserman-Schultz say that she is confident makes me confident that the women and men in the House and Senate will do their bests to ensure that we have real, affordable, comprehensive health care reform.

This post was submitted by WCF Fellow, Stephanie Glover

Congratulations, New Hampshire! The Granite State was honored by the U.S. House of Representatives for becoming the first state in the country to have a majority of women in their state senate. Out of their 24 senators, 13 are women.

According to statistics by the National Conference of State Legislators, New Hampshire’s high level of female participation is definitely noteworthy. Nationwide, the numbers are low:

Only 1,788 women serve in state legislatures

Women hold only 24.2% of seats in state legislatures

The ratio of women in state legislatures has only increased by 4% in the last 15 years

Looking at overall representation in state legislatures, Colorado ranks #1 with 39% women. New Hampshire
(again at the top) is a close second with 37%. I am shocked to learn that not a single state has achieved gender parity in their legislature. South Carolina ranks at the very bottom with only 10% women in their legislature and no women in their state senate. This is simply unacceptable.

New Hampshire is blazing the trial, but we have to help move these numbers closer to 50% by asking more women to run for office. Who do you know that should run? Remind them that we need more women at all levels of government, including in our state legislatures.

Let’s give New Hampshire some company at the top.

WCF has just announced a fresh round of newly endorsed candidates.  Check out this list of outstanding women, who are running for a spectrum of positions, from College Board to the United States Congress.

At WCF, we believe in the critical importance of supporting women at the state and local levels. And we’re excited to say that we’ve recently seen an increase in the pool of our “down-ballot” candidates.  Be sure to check out our complete list of 2009 and 2010 Endorsed Candidates.

With only 17% of Congress being women, we know how critical it is to achieve equality for the strength and future of our nation. And that’s why we’re proud to be there and help launch the political career of so many strong women leaders. If we want women to achieve equality up to the highest ranks of power, we must ensure they run for office in the first place.

And now, our list of Newly Endorsed Candidates.  Drum roll please…

• Representative Ruth Balser is running for Mayor Newton, Massachusetts. Ruth has been a dedicated public official for nearly twenty years.
• Suzanne Barclay is running for Supervisor of the town of Orangetown, New York. As the Executive Assistant to the Supervisor since 2001, Suzanne has assumed the lead role for major planning initiatives.
• Irene Hernandez-Blair is running for the Governing Board of Chaffey Community College in California. A resident of the City of Chino for over 10 years, Irene has long been a proponent of educational equality. She has worked in Public Service for 17 years.
• Melinda Katz is running for New York City Comptroller. Melinda realized her longstanding desire to enter public service at the age of 28, when she was elected to the New York State Assembly. As an Assemblywoman, she authored 16 bills, including the first in the country that required HMO’s to provide women with direct access to OB/GYN care.
• Dana Marie Kennedy is running for Phoenix City Council. A leading advocate for families, retirees, and women for over 20 years, Dana currently serves as the spokeswoman for the Arizona branch of the nation’s largest workers’ organization, representing over 165,000 of her home state’s laborers.
• Stephanie Miner is running for Mayor of Syracuse, New York. In the 1990s, she served as Regional Representative for then-Governor Mario Cuomo. In 2001, she ran and was elected to the Syracuse Common Council. Stephanie quickly earned a reputation for finding innovative solutions to the city’s challenges. She drafted and passed legislation such as the Say Yes to Education and the Star Exemption Programs. Stephanie was re-elected to Council in 2005.
• Patricia O’Dwyer is running for County Executive of Orange County, New York. Pat has extensive experience in government and economic development. She has been assistant to former Governor Mario Cuomo for Women’s and Ethnic Issues, assistant for health services for a former Queens Borough President, and Assistant District Attorney in the Domestic Violence Bureau under DA Charles Hynes, among other positions.
• Kathleen Rice is running for re-election for District Attorney of Nassau County, New York. On November 8, 2005, Rice defeated 30-year incumbent Denis Dillon, by a margin of 51%-49% (about 8000 votes). Rice is the first woman to serve in this position.
• Jo Anne Simon is running for New York City Council, Brooklyn District 33. An adjunct Associate Professor at Fordham University School of Law, Jo Anne is an attorney in Brooklyn, concentrating on discrimination in higher education, high stakes standardized testing and employment.  Jo Anne currently serves as female Democratic District Leader and State Committeewoman for the 52nd Assembly District.
• Representative Margaret Vanderhye is running for reelection to the Virginia House of Delegates (34th District). Among Margi’s many accomplishments is her appointment by President Bill Clinton to the National Capital Planning Commission.
• Anne McLane Kuster is running for the U.S. House of Representatives in New Hampshire (2nd District). A partner in the Concord, N.H. law firm of Rath, Young and Pignatelli, Ann is Director of the firm’s Education and Non-Profit Law Practice Group. Ann focuses her legal practice primarily on nonprofit, education, and health policy.
• Barbara Ann Radnofsky is running for Texas Attorney General. She practices law on both sides of the docket and is a mother, wife, teacher, lawyer and mediator. In 2006, after 27 years of law practice, Barbara Ann became the first woman in history to serve as the Texas Democratic U.S. Senate nominee.

If you feel inspired by this list of outstanding women, please take the time to visit their websites, and consider volunteering for their campaigns or contributing to their victory funds.

Do you know a woman who should be in public office?  Tell her She Should Run.

This post was submitted by Jamie Bence, one of WCF’s Summer 2009 Fellows.

I think I may have just been witness to a milestone in the battle for gender parity: There are now enough women in the U.S. House and Senate to fill a softball team.  Moreover, they can play a team made up entirely of female staff members from the DNC and RNC!

Last night, I attended the first annual Congressional Women’s Softball Game.  Held in DC’s lovely Georgetown neighborhood, the game featured members and staff from the DNC and RNC- facing off in a (truly competitive) game.  It was an exciting night, and it all raised money for a great cause.

A few WCF-endorsed candidates showed off their athletic skills.  Kirsten Gillibrand proved to have an excellent pitching arm.  Florida’s Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz was a captain of the members’ team, but played a little too hard- fracturing her leg while sliding into second base (but nonetheless returned to work bright and early this morning)!  Speaker Pelosi stayed in the stands, but Senator Susan Collins, Representative Shelley Berkley and Grace Napolitano were in uniform for the event.

The game raised more than $41 thousand for Young Survival Coalition (YSC) which educates and supports young women living with breast cancer.  Though the spirit of bipartisanship ran deep for this worthy cause, the game, of course, had winners and losers.  In the end, the staffers won, 14-8.

In a word, yes.

Clearly, we here at WCF already know that. But it seems this concept is slowly but surely being taken more seriously. Mark Lange’s article in the Christian Science Monitor asks if we have too many men steering. Would we live in a healthier, more secure world if women had equal decision-making power? Lange says yes:

Doubt it? Here’s a test. Would any of the women you admire have set up a healthcare system as byzantine, costly, and underperforming as America’s? Or a financial system where mortgage lenders don’t have to care about being paid back?

This isn’t to say that women in power = everything is magically fixed. Or that women are just so darn compassionate and caring that they would never allow any harm to come to their constituents. However, the large absence of women in power can’t be ignored. And it seems that women leaders embrace values of responsibility, shared power, and concern for others.

We’re heading into an era when we need leadership that enlists self-interest in support of the larger outcome – less transactional and more transformational. Rather than punishing failure or reinforcing conflict, motivating progress.

In 2009, it seems crazy that we still have to make an argument for having women equally represented in power. But we do. And that’s why WCF is here - encouraging, supporting, and engaging women in the political process - making it known that women deserve and equal place in running our world.

Minnesota State Representative Kathy Tingelstad (R) was attending the Minnesota’s Progressive Republican Tradition event. Many of the Republicans attending this event considered themselves to be GOP progressives. Representative Tinglestad spent a few minutes of her time with me. Here is what she had to say about women involved in politics and what issues are important to women.