Women and Politics

Congratulations and thank you to all of our 2009 Endorsed Candidates! Thank you for running, and thank you for setting an example for other women to follow. Whether they won or lost, each of these women took a step closer to equality for women!

We are particularly proud to share with you the victories of some of Women’s Campaign Forum’s Endorsed Candidates who ran at the state and local level:

Carolyn Comitta (Mayor - West Chester, PA)
Stephanie Hausner (Town Council - Clarkstown, NY)
Jessica Lappin (New York City Council)
Stephanie Miner (Mayor - Syracuse, NY)
Stacey Newman (State House MO-73)
Kathleen Rice (Nassau County District Attorney, NY)

Also, Annise Parker won the majority of the votes in the race for Mayor of Houston, TX with 31% of the vote. She will face a runoff election against Gene Locke on December 12, 2009. If elected, Annise would make Houston the largest U.S. city with an openly gay mayor. We’ll keep you posted on her race!

Thank you to all these brave women leaders for taking the step to run for public office. With their example, they will allow many others to follow in their footsteps and have helped level the playing field for future generations.

If elected, WCF-endorsed candidate Stephanie Hausner would be the first young woman elected to Town Council in Clarkstown, New York.

I had the pleasure of speaking with her just last week as her race is drawing to a close.

Though the double-whammy of being 25 years old and a woman can be seen as a disadvantage to some, Stephanie cites her age and gender as reasons why she should be elected:

“When I look across my local government and even nationally and there are no women. There is no one that looks like me. There are no 25 year olds. I think that there are issues that are important to young people, to young women, that others might not understand.”

Stephanie gave the example of how women have introduced legislation about breastfeeding, which men might never have thought about. Also, young adults may think differently about how health care affects their generation. Stephanie wants to help ensure that the voices of her younger constituents are heard.

Stephanie also noted that though they share a common bond, young women candidates don’t always support each other:

“Young women are not always the best to other young women, and we don’t always encourage other young women as much as we should. I think we need to help each other more.”

Stephanie is a true role model for women candidates everywhere. A She Should Run member herself, she has already asked over ten women she knows to run for office. She knows how important that extra encouragement can be for women in their decision to run.

Learn more about Stephanie’s decision to run for office on our She Should Run blog.

We look forward to seeing the fruits of Stephanie’s efforts both in and out of office.