The Democratic Party and Women in Politics

by: mikeshapiro

Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 10:55:39 PM EDT

Cross-Posted from ShapTalk.com:

Fifty years ago, women would typically vote for the candidates their husbands voted for or would not vote at all. Times have thankfully changed and women now have a significant role in campaigns and elections. Whether it be the soccer moms of the 1990's or the security moms post-9/11, the role of women in politics has taken on greater importance, especially in the last decade. As a significant voting block, women have become critical to the election hopes of any politician. However, the number of women serving in elected office continues to be dwarfed by the number of men who serve. In New Jersey, on the Republican side of the aisle, something is being done to address this problem: the Christine Todd Whitman Excellence in Public Service Series. Unfortunately, the Democratic Party currently has no comparable program.

mikeshapiro :: The Democratic Party and Women in Politics

Founded in 1998, the Christine Todd Whitman Excellence in Public Service Series, a non-profit corporation, aims to increase the number of women serving at all levels of government: local, county, state and federal. Sixteen women are selected each year to participate and any Republican women can apply. Once selected, the women are provided in-depth leadership training in both governing and campaigning through a nine-month educational experience that includes readings, panel presentations, workshops, and homework assignments. They are also mentored by current women serving in public office. The program includes meeting with Republican elected officials in New Jersey, as well as a trip to Washington, D.C. to meet with federal officials.

While Republicans in New Jersey have created this important and positive training program for Republican women, there is no such program on the Democratic side of the aisle. As a result, there is a paucity of Democratic women who are adequately prepared to campaign and govern. Given that New Jersey is a Democratic state, it leaves one to wonder why there are so few Democratic women serving in elected office. The answer may lie in the lack of a program to encourage them to seek public office and to train them to run and serve.

Since its founding in 1998, over one hundred women located in every County in New Jersey have been trained through the Series. Many of these women have gone on to hold elected or appointed positions in local, county, state and federal government. The Republican leadership in New Jersey deserves commendation for instituting the Whitman Series. The Democratic leadership would be wise to create a comparable program so that Democratic women throughout the State have the same opportunities to learn about government and campaigns and be trained to serve in elected office as their Republican counterparts. It would be in the best interest of New Jersey to have women in both political parties trained in leadership in government.

Tags: new jersey, Democratic Party, women, politics, Whitman, republican, leaders, (All Tags)

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The Democratic Party and Women in Politics | 1 comments

from your lips to Cryan's ear (4.00 / 1)

I heard Christy's institute was folding, but don't have anything solid on that. I'm not sure what the connection is between the GOP leadership and Whitman's setting up the series, so I wouldn't leap to commending them, until I know exactly what that connection is. Wasn't the point of her book It's My Party, Too (which I didn't read) that she had to go out and do these things on her own, since she wasn't being backed up? I'd be surprised if they were helping her fund the Series. My impression (and I don't know that much about it) was that she was using left over campaign money and/or her own money, wealthy as she is & money she can raise using her name.

I've been saying the same thing you are about getting more training on the Dem side, and there are some trainings starting up through the non-partisan Women's Political Caucus, both non-partisan and through the Dem Task Force, nothing as comprehensive as you describe for Christy's series.

One training will take place in Monmouth Co. Monday, Apr 23, 6:30 to 9:30pm at the West Park Recreation Center, 615 West Park Avenue, Ocean, NJ 07712 with recently elected freeholder Barbara McMorrow. Rsvp to: DemocraticTaskforce@hotmail.com
It is jointly sponsored by the MCDem Comm. and the Women's Political Caucus's Dem Task Force. I'll post it as an event too.

There was also a non-partisan training for women on taking committee seats in Union County, and we're hoping to have a couple in Middlesex county (unfortunately, it probably won't be before the filing deadline of Apr 9th, but we can at least target vacancies).

The state Dem party has put together a task force and is supposed to start trainings around the state. Cryan first mentioned this at the state convention back in September. He suggested then, that the trainings would be starting in January. The task force wasn't put together in January, but it seems that it is now.

BTW, if Corzine gets the ban on dual office holding through, that could help open up some opportunities for women and minorities.

Coming from CA where 19 out of the 52 members of the congressional delegation are women -- I finally did the calculation, it's 36.5%, and rounding up, if we had the equivalent number in NJ, we would have 5 women in the House from NJ!!! I can hardly imagine how different NJ politics would have to be to have 5 women in the House. My point is it's something about the political culture in NJ and not about women per se.

That said, I agree with you, training, mentoring and being ready when seats open up is absolutely necessary.

by: kwilkinson @ Fri Mar 30, 2007 at 17:12:29 PM UTC