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The Star-Ledger
More clout for women
in Trenton
'Revolutionary' shift
anticipated in both Senate and Assembly
BY DEBORAH HOWLETT,
nj.com from the Web, October 15, 2007
This fall's scramble to fill 40 open
seats in the Senate and Assembly is expected to bring a record number of women
into the New Jersey Legislature.
Barring any election-day stunners, when the 120 members of the 213th Legislature
are sworn in next January, at least one in four will be female.
"It's astounding," said Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women
in Politics at Rutgers University. "It's revolutionary. It
represents a complete shift from where we have been."
New Jersey has had a national reputation of being inhospitable to women
politicians. For years, the number of women legislators kept New Jersey
near the bottom of the state-by-state lists, just ahead of conservative southern
states like Mississippi and Louisiana.
There are now 23 women in the Legislature, the highest total so far. For
most of the last century the proportion hovered under 15 percent.
Now, with so many seats open because of retirements and resignations, and so
many women nominated, odds are there will be eight women senators and roughly
two dozen assemblywomen sworn in next January.
"It all seems to have come together in the past few years," said Walsh, who has
been tracking women office holders nationwide since 1981. "It's the whole
opening up of the process, and women being prepared to take advantage of the
opportunities that (opening up) created."
The lack of women in public office has always been something of a puzzle in this
relatively liberal state, especially given its feminist history.
New Jersey was one of only a few states that allowed women to vote before the
U.S. Constitution was amended in 1920 to guarantee that right. It elected
the sixth woman ever to Congress, Mary Teresa Norton, a Jersey City Democrat
elected in 1925 who served 13 terms. It was the eleventh state to elect a
woman governor who didn't succeed her husband.
But even now, as women break into the Statehouse, not one woman serves in the
15-member congressional delegation. In the state's history, only five
women have been elected to Congress; the last, Marge Roukema, retired in 2002.
BREAKING IN
In the past, analysts have viewed the state's strong county party system as an
old-boy network that made it difficult for women to move up in politics.
But in recent years more women have been brought into the county committees, and
this year the system has produced a bounty of female candidates.
When Sens. Wayne Bryant (D-Camden) and Sharpe James (D-Essex) were indicted on
federal corruption charges and announced they would not seek re-election, the
Democratic party backed women candidates to replace them. In Camden, local
party leaders chose Dana Redd, who faces only token opposition in November.
In Essex, local leaders rebuffed Assemblyman Bill Payne and threw support to
Teresa Ruiz, a top aide to county executive Joseph DiVincenzo.
"It's a natural progression," said Assembly candidate Grace Spencer, one of
Ruiz' running mates in Essex. "It's unusual, yes, but it should be
completely normal."
The key has been to convince local party leaders of that, according to Brigid
Harrison, a political science professor at Montclair State University.
"The fact that they are choosing women indicates how seriously they are taking
women now," she said.
Even more than party bosses, Harrison added, incumbency has been the greatest
obstacle to women getting elected. "The answer to that has been open
seats," she said.
This year, 14 state senators retired, lost primaries or chose not to seek
re-election. The ripple effect in the Assembly created 26 more open seats.
"The problem we have had is too many old, white men," said Sen. Diane Allen
(R-Burlington), the senior woman in the Senate. "Nothing against old,
white men -- I'm married to one -- but we need our Legislature to reflect the
citizenship. That's why it's so exciting to see so many women running."
There are 61 women among the 267 legislative candidates on the ballot.
They include 19 incumbents running for re-election -- one, Sen. Ellen Karcher
(D-Monmouth), faces a strong challenge from another woman, Assemblywoman
Jennifer Beck (R-Monmouth). Another 11 each has the backing of the
dominant party in her district; and seven more are running competitive races.
The soaring numbers have created a certain giddiness among some of the elder
stateswomen.
Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein (D-Mercer), seeking a fifth term, said the recent
progress may portend real equality. "I'm beginning to think we can get to
50-50 somewhere in the not too distant future," she said.
Walsh was more circumspect.
Ten years ago, she said, it would have been unlikely that there would have been
enough women to step up and run competitive races for the open seats. A
decade of intense coaching of women candidates by Walsh as well as the state
Democratic committee, along with greater assistance in helping women to find
success in local elections, has provided the payoff.
"There's been a kind of training and nurturing and encouraging women to run,"
Walsh said. "I'm not going to be naive and say the world is our oyster,
but things are definitely starting to change."
Deborah Howlett may be reached at (609) 989-0273 or
dhowlett@starledger.com.
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