GWEN: The New Woman in Town
By: Teddy
Published On: 7/1/2007 12:51:42 AM
Did you know that of all the States, Virginia has the lowest percentage of women in its legislature: 17%? (Vermont has the highest: 37%). In actual numbers, the Virginia Senate has 8 women out of the 40 members, and in the House of Delegates 16 of the 100 members are women. It's no better on the national level: 87 of the 435 members of the House of Representatives are women (2 of these are from Virginia); and, in the United States Senate, 15 of the 100 Senators are women (and none of those are from Virginia). There are only 9 governors, 11 lieutenant governors, and 3 attorneys general who are women. Compare that with the rest of the world, where women serve as heads of state in: Chile, Germany, Liberia, South Korea, and Jamaica, and are plentiful across the globe in legislatures.
GWEN aims to change this dismal record in Virginia.
GWEN stands for Get Women Elected Now, and she is the brain child of Senator Mary Margaret Whipple and Arlington School Board member Libby Garvey, with the assistance of Senator Patsy Ticer, Alexandria City Council Member Del Pepper, Arlington County Board Member Barbara Favola, Arlington Sheriff Beth Arthur, and Arlington Commissioner of Revenue Ingrid Morroy.
Alarmed at the steady decline in numbers of women in public office in Virginia, these current women office-holders decided to support local progressive women candidates and create an organization which will encourage and help women to run for office in Virginia. This is a very practical endeavor--- no airy aspirational vision thing here. The intent is to provide direct advice "on the techniques and organization required for a successful campaign." We are not talking tokenism, either; GWEN wants women to run for office--- and win. Based on their own experience, the founders will also advise progressive women candidates on how to balance family and employment obligations in order to find time to run their campaigns. They will also be raising money for women candidates.
GWEN was presented to an enthusiastic crowd gathered at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association Building on Wilson Boulevard in Arlington on the evening of Thursday, 21 June. Congressman Jim Moran introduced the featured speaker, Judy Feder, who will be challenging Congressman Frank Wolfe in the elections next year.
GWEN is a federal political action committee; contributions maybe sent to 115 S. Payne Street, Alexandria, VA 22314. For further information contact Libby Garvey at 703-820-3523. The web site is www.getwomenelectednow.com
Comments
Help is on the way (Teddy - 7/1/2007 1:15:02 AM)
and it's impressive. Personally, it has seemed to me that too often Democratic candidates (men as well as women) run sort of Amateur Hour campaigns, compared to the professional machine available to, say, Republican candidates. Insofar as women are concerned, it strikes me that government, especially on a local or state level, is the natural place for women to be in charge. They are the ones who provide the quality of life, the kitchen table management for communities, why not turn running the government over to them as a natural extension? The problem is that women are rarely encouraged to run for office, and too often do not (in my opinion) get the support or guidance men candidates do. They need the encouragement and support system GWEN intends to provide.
Those Numbers Explain a Lot About the General Assembly's Decisions (Susan P. - 7/1/2007 6:38:37 AM)
It hasn't been too long since female G.A. members got their very own restroom! You should also consider the effect that the large number of U.VA. graduates in the General Assembly has on the overall attitude and decision-making abilities of this body. Most of these guys, and I do mean guys, went to U.VA. before it went co-ed in the 1970s. It contributes to their overall attitude that women don't participate in decision-making or matter in results.
Our local embarrasssing example: Nick "FemiNazi" Rerras. No, he didn't go to U.VA. He apparently learned his misogyny in Bible college.
"GWEN is a federal political action committee" (Vivian J. Paige - 7/1/2007 10:30:55 AM)
Doesn't this mean that they won't be able to contribute to state and local candidates?
Less corruption, lower murder rate (Kathy Gerber - 7/1/2007 10:34:05 AM)
those are correlated with more women in legislature. It's not a strong correlation but it's there..