“Of my two “handicaps” being female
put more obstacles in my path than being black.”

- Former Presidential Candidate and Congresswoman, Shirley Chisholm

When Shirley Chisholm ran for president in 1972 only three women had ever held the office of Governor . . . all were elected as surrogates to replace their deceased husbands. At that time, there were no female governors. Only 15 women were in the Congress.

Super Tuesday is only a few days away. Thousands of Californians will cast their votes in the Democratic primary, a contest where campaign issues have become dwarfed by the diversity of the candidates themselves. The two top contenders for the democratic nomination, Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton, are the two most diverse candidates.

What would Shirley Chisholm think today . . . is being female still the greatest obstacle a candidate can face? Hillary Clinton is running for president. There are 92 women in Congress and there are nine women governors. We have come a long way. There is a long way to go.

In California there are so many delegates up for grabs that the discussion about women gets especially interesting. The maturity of a movement, in our case the women’s movement, brings the ability to fully integrate issues into the mainstream. An important part of being equal is voting for whomever we choose, male or female. However, women are still underrepresented in government. Women are still underrepresented in business. Women are still paid less than men.

We are proving ourselves an important constituency, in part because so many women are voting. In every primary held so far this election cycle, the number of women voters surpassed the number of men, which is such a potentially positive development. Our voice as both voters and candidates is critical to the health of our political future. But important questions remain unanswered. Can we be considered a single demographic group? Can we be courted and addressed as a single group? When a female is running for office, does it matter to vote for her because of her gender?

In California Sacramento is the only major city with a female mayor. Only seven women have ever been elected to statewide office. In the last two election cycles we have consistently lost elected women officials on both the state and local levels. Hilllary Clinton’s strong presence in the Presidential primaries has caught our attention. We hope it has captured our imagination as well, and that her candidacy will help to build the pipeline of future women leaders and increase the support of women running for office in California . .

“ I want history to remember me not just as the first black woman to be elected to Congress, not as the first black woman to have made a bid for the presidency of the United States, but as a black woman who lived in the 20th century and dared to be herself.”

- Former Presidential Candidate and Congresswoman, Shirley Chisholm

- To give us your thoughts on these questions, send an email to office@californialist.org.

As we kick off our sixth year at the CALIFORNIA LIST, we are embarking on one of the most exciting new phases for our organization. While we remain dedicated to our mission of electing pro-choice, democratic women, we recognize the need to reach out in new ways to reverse the decline of our women elected officials. Hillary Clinton’s campaign has drawn attention to the fact that getting women elected is difficult. As we watch what is happening to Hillary Clinton, we begin to realize the challenges women face when running for any public office, from President all the way down to the local city council. The CALIFORNIA LIST is needed more than ever and we thank you for your support!

We are on the move planning events in San Francisco, Sacramento and San Diego. As we continue to strategies how to increase membership and raise money for candidates, we have formulated the following list of our goals and objectives for 2008:

  • Hire an Executive Director in Sacramento
  • Hold focus groups to create better messaging by engaging a discussion of issues for and by women. Our first focus groups are tentatively scheduled for the last week in February
  • Host candidate forums to introduce the women running for state office in California.
  • Enhance our presence on the web

Last year CALIFORNIA LIST began upgrading our online marketing with a web site redesign and we have begun to increase our virtual presence to enhance our state and national awareness. The first CALIFORNIA LIST blog about the importance of Hillary Clinton’s victory in New Hampshire was featured on a variety of California web journals and appeared in the Sacramento Bee! The link to the Sacramento Bee is http://www.sacbee.com/110/story/646036.html. Our objective is to provide thoughtful insight about electing women with weekly web posts. You will find a listing of blog postings on our website and in our Newsroom section.

We hope that you will join our efforts