May 6, 2014

CAWP NEWS & NOTES

A newsletter to keep you informed about all things women and politics from the Center for American Women and Politics, Rutgers University

Help NEW Leadership^™ NJ Win $25K!

Just a little more than a week left for you and your friends to help CAWP win $25,000 for NEW Leadership^™ NJ in the State Farm Neighborhood Assist program. We're one of 200 competitors for grants; all we have to do is be among the top 40 vote-getters on Facebook! Everyone can vote 10 times each day. Please get the word out and keep the momentum building! Thanks.

Will a Woman Win the Presidency in 2016?

No woman's (or man's!) hat is yet in the ring, but CAWP has initiated Presidential Watch 2016 on our website. It's the place to look for information

about women running and to explore the history and context behind women's place in the upcoming election cycle. We'll provide regular updates, including news about actual and potential candidates, polling data about the idea of a woman president, and media buzz on the subject.

CAWP Taps Three Winners

Each year CAWP presents leadership awards named in honor of three outstanding NJ women leaders, to students at Douglass Residential College. This year's winners have already established their leadership cred by earning certificates as Leadership Scholars at the Institute for Women's Leadership (IWL).

The Nancy H. Becker Award for Public Leadership honors a highly-respected public interest advocate who headed her own successful Trenton lobbying firm for 30 years. This year's winner is Gabrielle Rossi, a senior with a double major in American Studies and Women's & Gender Studies and a double minor in History and Psychology. Gabrielle was recognized for her many impressive mentoring efforts through a variety of campus programs.

The Barbara Boggs Sigmund Award is presented in memory of the late mayor of Princeton Borough, who was one of New Jersey's best-known and most inspiring political women. The 2014 winner, Ami Kachalia, is graduating with a major in political science and minor in women's & gender studies. Ami has spent her college career involved in politics and political research, including stints as a research intern at CAWP and the Eagleton Institute of Politics and participation in Eagleton's Undergraduate Associates program.

The Hazel Frank Gluck Award honors one of New Jersey's most knowledgeable and effective leaders, whose public service career included elected and appointed positions at the local, county and state levels. The winner is Felise Ortiz, a senior with a double major in political science and women's & gender studies and a minor in Spanish. She is an alum of CAWP's NEW Leadership program and was an Eagleton Undergraduate Associate.

Happy Mother's Day - Moms are Winners!

Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA)

For Mother's Day, a few fun facts about moms in politics:

Representative Yvonne Brathwaite Burke (D-CA) became the first Congresswoman to give birth while in office and the first to be granted maternity leave in 1973.
For the first time in congressional history, two Congresswomen - both from Washington State - gave birth in the same year. Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) had her third child, Brynn, in November 2013, and Representative Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA) welcomed her first child, Abigail, in July 2013.
Representative McMorris Rodgers is the only woman in the history of the U.S. Congress to give birth three times while in office: in 2007 (Cole), 2010 (Grace), and 2013 (Brynn).
In Michigan, Barb Byrum succeeded her mother, Diane Byrum, in the state legislature. Diane Byrum served as the first-ever woman Democratic House Leader, but was term limited out in 2006.
Maine's Chellie Pingree (D) was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2008, the same year her daughter, Hannah Pingree (D), became Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives.
Senator Kelly Ayotte's (R-NH) daughter Kate is ready to follow in her mother's footsteps - and go beyond! At a December 2012 forum at Saint Anselm College, Senator Ayotte shared this exchange with her then 8-year old daughter: "She came home one day and said, 'Mom, I don't want you to run for president.' I said, 'Kate, that's not going to happen. Why are you asking me this?' She said, 'You know what, Mom? Because I want to be the first woman president.'"

Happy Mother's Day to all the political moms we know!

CA Latina looking for victory

The New York Times reports on Hispanic office-seekers around the country, including congressional candidate Amanda Renteria.

Will PA or WI Elect a Woman Governor?

Politico provides the latest on the gubernatorial race in PA, where women's votes are a much sought-after prize among Democratic primary contenders for the right to face incumbent Republican Governor Tom Corbett. And The Daily Beast highlights Mary Burke, candidate for governor in Wisconsin, who is running against incumbent Republican Governor Scott Walker.

Women Candidates and Voters Could Shape the Next Senate

So contends HuffPost Politics, citing key races and candidates on both sides of the aisle.

The GOP and Women's Votes

CAWP director Debbie Walsh is among those in this NPR story discussing what it will take for Republicans to trim the gender gap and increase their share of women's votes.

Now NY State Wants Students to Learn about Women's Achievements...

Jezebel tells what happens when people start to notice - and object to - the absence of women from the curriculum. (Help is on the way - stay tuned for the launch of CAWP's Teach a Girl to Lead™ website, coming soon!)

Finally, Congress Could Get Some Love

Mia Love, that is - a Republican candidate from Utah, who lost to an incumbent last time and is now running for the open seat created by his retirement. The Deseret News reports on her nomination at the state's GOP convention.

Center for American Women and Politics

Eagleton Institute of Politics

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

191 Ryders Lane, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8557

(732) 932-9384 - Fax: (732) 932-6778

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