Writing Solutions

"We Can Right It For You"

…in the real world… Ó

a column by Gail Paparian

We’ve come a long way, Right?

Each day before dawn, I do my stretching exercises in bed while I play mental calisthenics. With time to invest but no time to waste, I run an intellectual checklist of things I would like to see accomplished sooner, rather than later.

Sure, world peace would be great, but in today’s current state of affairs, it doesn’t look like an immediate option. Maybe I should just move on to something that is immediately more solvable. I could work on lowering my golf handicap, learn to bake, or solve traffic problems along Highway 111. No real possibilities here.

When all else fails, I can always worry about the sad state of our electorate. “Electorate” means people entitled to vote. One of today’s growing and frustrating problems is, people are entitled to vote—but don’t. Now this bugs me!

Although I am disappointed in some of our elected officials, at least I made my opinion count… I voted. For those who don’t, your cries of anguish and disenchantment will go unheeded. Your choice of not voting may have just gotten us where we are.

I made contact with the Center for American Women and Politics and got lots of interesting information. For instance, “in 2003, women hold 73, or 13.6% of the 535 seats in the U.S. Congress- 14 or 14.0% of the 100 seats in the Senate and 69 or 13.6 % of the 435 seats in the House of Representatives.”

On a statewide basis, 79 women hold statewide elective executive offices across the country. That breaks down to 25% of the 316 available positions. Closer to home, there are 650,468 registered voters in Riverside County. There are 557 positions for locally elected officials (that includes cities, schools and special districts). One hundred sixty-six seats are held by women; 392 by men. Were I prone to rush to judgment, I might think that men still dominate politics!

In sharing her thoughts with me, Mischelle Townsend, Riverside County’s Registrar of Voters stated, “It is reassuring to see more capable women entering public office at all levels of government. Although traditionally, it has been more difficult for women to raise the necessary campaign funds to effectively get their message out, that is also changing with the Internet and greater financial support for women. Clearly, the leadership of women is making a difference, as evidenced by the increasing number of successful women candidates.”

Thanks, Mischelle. While I respect your opinion, I am terrified at the number of dollars necessary to run a campaign, let alone win. The 2002 North Carolina Senate race saw Erskine Bowles (D) raising a dizzying $13, 276,779 and losing! The energetic Elizabeth Dole (R) took 54% of the vote and won. She raised a mere $13,794,646 to do it.

While I would like to think that more woman are considering running for office, I’m not sure that’s true. In the past couple of weeks, I’ve conducted one of my sincere, yet totally unscientific polls as to why woman will/will not run for elected office.

Again, the unscientific results: time--- the lack of it. Societal needs may have flip-flopped to the extent that people covet their dwindling personal time more than dollars: so much, that they would rather pay for services than ‘waste’ their own time doing it. It’s understandable.

Should a young woman choose to run for elected office (be it school board, club organization or city council), she will be faced with the process of entering an election AFTER she concludes her normal daily routine. This is no easy task.

Young women today have a full plate whether they work outside the home or not. Statistics show that more dual incomes are now required to maintain the homestead. With children, the cost of doing business and the time spent increases. Be it soccer, music or the mere exuberance of youth, the time investment for the mother is substantial.

Should a woman decide to run for office, she brings considerable skills to the table. If she’s dealt with her kids and their friends, she has already earned degrees in diplomacy and dispute resolution!

Is public service tough? Sure it is and it takes serious dedication. I spoke with a young woman serving on a local city council. She told me that her favorite campaigners have been her mom and her younger sister.

She ran for a student body office when she was in high school. One night in pouring rain, the three of them stood out with neon-bright signs proclaiming, “roses are red; violets are blue; a vote for me is a vote for you!”

Wait just a moment. I think there is still hope.

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