Thursday, April 14, 2022, 7 to 8:30 pm
Vermont is the only state that has never elected a woman to Congress, but that may change in November 2022. Three Vermont women have already declared their candidacy for Vermont’s sole seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, being vacated by Representative Peter Welch.
Our April public meeting, held on Zoom , is “A Woman’s Journey Into Politics,” in which the three women candidates will take a break from the campaign trail to share their reflections on the challenges and opportunities facing women political candidates today:
- Becca Balint, State Senator (2015–present), Senate Majority Leader (2017-2021), President Pro Tempore (2021–present)
- Molly Gray, Lieutenant Governor of Vermont (2021–present)
- Kesha Ram Hinsdale, State Senator (2021–present), former State Representative (2009–2016) and candidate for Lieutenant Governor in 2016.
What is it like to be a woman running for office today? Each woman will be asked to draw on her personal experience to answer that question, from when and how she entered politics to her decision to run for a seat which, if she wins, would make her the first woman for Vermont to send to Congress.
Sample conversation topics include the role of mentorship in their political careers, an example of where their perspective as women has informed a policy position, and advice they might offer other women considering entering electoral politics. As candidates for a national position, Julie will ask for their thoughts on what Vermont might bring to the national dialog and national trends for women in politics. We will reserve time at the end for a few questions from the virtual audience.
Our branch does not endorse candidates but we do support legislation that opens up and safeguards opportunities for women, and in past election years we have presented a Candidates Forum to air the political views and legislative positions of local candidates (women and men, Republicans and Democrats) running for the Vermont legislature.
Here is the link: [Insert link]
The 50th State?
It’s been a journey of over 100 years, from the ratification of the 19th Amendment that gave women in the U.S. the right to vote, to the current record-breaking number of 145 women serving in the U.S. Congress (121 in the House, 24 in the Senate), with a woman serving as Speaker of the House and with Kamala Harris serving as Vice President. Vermont alone has never sent a woman to Congress, either the House of Representatives or the Senate.
Say what? Vermonters have never sent a woman to Congress?