Women and Politics

This post was submitted by Rebecca Freedholm, WCF Communications Fellow

Tomorrow, Tuesday August 24th, Vermont Secretary of State Deb Markowitz will face a highly competitive five-way Democratic primary in the race to become Governor of Vermont. Although this is an exceedingly tight race, Markowitz has the energy, the enthusiasm, and the experience to come out on top.

Markowitz is not a stranger to challenging political races—she’s won six statewide elections against both Republican and Progressive opponents. In her first bid for elected office she beat a two-term incumbent to become the first woman elected as the Secretary of State of Vermont.

Now entering her twelfth year as Secretary of State, Markowitz has built an impressive record of achievement in Vermont. She has ameliorated the process of starting and expanding businesses in Vermont, effectively undertaken an ambitious election reform agenda, and proved to be a champion of open and accountable government. She has also implemented a crucial Safe at Home program to protect victims of domestic violence from being tracked down through public records.

Markowitz has consistently demonstrated her commitment to serving the people of Vermont. That is why she has gained endorsements from city and town officials all throughout the state. Six Burlington City Council Members provided a confident statement about Markowitz’s qualifications with their endorsement:

“Deb has proven her effectiveness as a chief executive. We will all greatly benefit by allowing her to implement her policies of efficiency, effectiveness, and practical problem-solving across all of Vermont. Most importantly, she is the candidate who is most likely to beat Brian Dubie in November’s general election because she is energetic, engaging, passionate and has broad appeal highlighted by her six statewide victories, including winning every single city and town in Vermont. She is the candidate who sees the big picture rather than focusing on a single issue or ideology. Local government, and all Vermonters, are confronting many challenges right now and will continue to do so in the near future. Deb Markowitz is the partner we need because when she sees a problem, she solves it.”

City and town officials are not the only people showing support for Markowitz—“1,812 Vermonters from 177 cities and towns across the state have invested in her campaign.” Markowitz’s grassroots fundraising efforts have been enormous, and her “neighbor-to-neighbor outreach program” may provide her with the momentum she needs to achieve victory on Tuesday.

Markowitz is a brilliant and hardworking leader for Vermont and WCF is certain that she is the candidate most capable of serving her state as Governor. Tomorrow’s gubernatorial primary may, however, be one of the most contested races that Vermont has ever seen. Markowitz will need plenty of support in this election, and WCF hopes you will join us in standing behind this wonderful Vermont leader.

This post was submitted and co-written by Julie Daniels, WCF Political Programs Manager. WCF believes so strongly in Jennifer Brunner’s candidacy that they sent Julie to work on the ground in Ohio for her campaign.

It’s the final day before the Ohio primary election aboard Jennifer Brunner’s Courage Express. We’re headed to Cleveland for an immigration rally, Cleveland Cavaliers watch party, and to visit a senior center.

Even after months of campaigning and three straight weeks of riding around on an old school bus, Jennifer is still going strong. When our team is exhausted from the long and hectic day, it’s Jennifer that keeps us going. It seems that her conviction overrides all the fatigue and bumps in the road.

And it’s this spirit of determination that will empower her to improve the lives of both Ohioans and Americans in the U.S. Senate.

As Secretary of State, Jennifer faced a broken and corrupt election system. In less than two years, she was able to reform Ohio’s elections to be fair and honest. She makes decisions based on what is right—not party politics. And with our current partisan deadlock in Congress, we need people who will stand up and make tough decisions for the right reasons.

Jennifer is running for U.S. Senate because it’s the right thing to do—because she knows that the Senate needs her. It needs her because of her bold leadership and fair decision-making abilities; because she is not a Washington insider; because she can successfully collaborate; because she is a true public servant; because she’s running for office to get things done; and, yes, because she’s a woman.

Jennifer Brunner is a shining example of why WCF exists—to support women who make the decision to run for office—despite the odds, and even when the system gets in their way. WCF is here to help clear the path, chop through the weeds, and guide talented women through their candidacy.

Thank you, Jennifer for making the decision to run for higher office—so few women do— perhaps because of all the adversity demonstrated in your campaign. Thank you for not listening to the people who told you no. Thank you for giving me the drive to continue our efforts to increase the number of women considering and running for elected office.

We need more women like Jennifer to stand up, face the wind, and make the decision to run for office—despite the inevitable obstacles and resistance. If we had more women like Jennifer Brunner in office all across the country, the U.S. would be better positioned to truly serve the needs of each and every American.

Today, the Brunner campaign is going full-speed ahead in Cleveland. The Courage Express has traveled an amazing 5,000 miles in just three weeks. We’ve been to every region of the state, meeting groups large and small.

This race is far from decided, and WCF will stand by Jennifer as she makes history and attempts to change the political paradigm for women, for a new generation of voters, and for a county in great need of Courage.

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

When Hillary Clinton became the nation’s third female Secretary of State, she brought a strong background in women’s rights and reproductive justice to her job.  More than any of her predecessors, Clinton imbues her work with a sense of how reproductive rights and global security are connected.

Secretary Clinton has been a well-recognized advocate of the global women’s rights movement since her historic speech at the 1995 United Nations Conference on Women in Beijing.  There, Clinton famously declared: “Women’s rights are human rights, once and for all.”

Women and girls are still the majority of the world’s poor, unschooled, unhealthy, and underfed.  Thus, it is still vitally important that women have access to the knowledge and resources that allow them to plan their families.  Nations which respect women’s rights to contraception and female health care are more likely to be progressive partners in Democracy.  According to the United Nations, gender equality is an important indicator of national stability.

It seems that Secretary Clinton’s preeminence on this issue may be inspiring change in Washington, which has long been stagnant on international women’s issues.  Shortly after Congress convened in January, Senator Barbara Boxer announced that she would be heading the first ever Senate Subcommittee on Global Women’s Issues.  In March, the White House Council on Women and Girls (led by Valerie Jarrett) was created to study gender implications of federal initiatives.  The International Protecting Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act is making its way through Congress, and another, the International Violence Against Women Act, will likely be brought to a vote in the next session.

The United States can act in consort with the United Nations to improve the station of women around the world.  Though both have acknowledged that rape has been used as a tool of war, there has never been a trial in any U.N. court for committing or allowing rape as a war crime.

However, the United States could gain credibility by ratifying CEDAW, the Convention on Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women.  Besides the United States, the only other countries that have refused to ratify CEDAW are Sudan, Somalia, Iran, and a few Pacific Island states.  Moving forward, Secretary Clinton has much she can do to make the U.S. a leader in ensuring women’s rights around the world.

Hopefully, she will have continued, expanded support in the White House and Congress to accomplish her task.

For more information on Secretary Clinton’s weekend trip to Mumbai and what she said to students there about women in the world, click here.