ELECTING WOMEN IS IMPORTANT.
IT’S ABOUT OUR FUTURE.

As the presidential campaign of 2008 continues with an intensity not normally seen so early in the election cycle, it is a politically charged historic moment at home and around the globe. Hillary Clinton running for president changes the paradigm – a qualified, competent, competitive woman is the frontrunner in the Democratic primary!

According to the Center for American Woman and Politics at Rutgers University, between 1872 and 2004 a total of 21 women presented themselves as presidential candidates: among them 15 sought major party nominations, and the rest ran as candidates representing a minor party.

When you look back at the number of women who have run for president, each faced a unique set of challenges.

Today, when you look at the statistics below it is evident that the current pool of presidential candidates is not as deep as it could be or should be:

  • 87 women serve in Washington (out of 535)
  • 16 women serve in the U.S. Senate (out of 100)
  • 71 women serve in the U.S. House (out of 435)
  • 9 women serve as governor (out of 50)

To date, just 22 women ~ 14 senators and eight governors ~ would be considered part of the natural pipeline to the presidency.

As we see a decline in the number of women running locally, regionally and statewide, the pipeline for women leaders continues to diminish. We can’t allow that to happen. Without the consistent flow of women through the pipeline, it will eventually run dry. We must continue to build leaders.

The CALIFORNIA LIST is now five years old. I have traveled the state with the same message: Electing women is important! However, I continue to be met with resistance and reticence. As I watch the Clinton campaign unfold, many of the same questions come to mind: How have women’s issues evolved; from the pro-choice politics of the 80’s to the soccer moms in the 90’s to what in the new millennium? What issues are moving women today and how do men react? How do women candidates fare with women voters? Do they have inherent advantages? What are their challenges?

Ultimately it’s about California. We are losing women in the California Legislature. We only have one woman statewide officeholder. Why?

In the next few months, The CALFORNIA LIST will continue to work with our identified candidates, but we will also be organizing a poll and some focus groups to help bring light to these questions. In order to continue to build our organization and to fully understand the dynamics of the presidential election; we must better understand what issues drive women today.

In our next newsletter we will profile the Democratic candidates who are running for Assembly and State Senate in California.

POLITICS AND TEA WITH WASHINGTON STATE
GOVERNOR CHRISTINE GREGOIRE

In July, members of The CALIFORNIA LIST in Los Angeles hosted a reception for Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire. Governor Gregoire honored us with an inspirational message of encouragement. During her presentation, she menioned that Washington State maintains an excellent record of electing women to office. She said that there were so many women in office as elected representatives, they were in line to chair the majority of the powerful committees in her legislature. Perhaps California can follow in the footsetps of the empowered women of Washington State!

BECOME A CALIFORNIA LIST MEMBER TODAY
The mission of CALIFORNIA LIST is to elect Democratic women to California state government. We are in the process of identifying women who are interested in running for Assembly and Senate. Please visit our website www.californialist.org to read about the women who have identified themselves as candidates. Please note that we have not completed our endorsement process yet, but we are highlighting the women who have announced their candidacies. We wish them the best of luck and success as they launch their campaigns.

Please join our efforts to identify, recruit and fund Democratic women to run for office. Women are rising to the top and we need to continue to fill the pipeline with other future women leaders.