Women in Charge: The Times they Are a Changing

A Speech to the American Association of University Women given by Senator Dede Feldman, April 26,2003

Thank you so much for inviting me here to share some stories about myself and talk about the subject of women in charge. It’s a subject that has really been central to my political career. Because I got started back in the 80s, as a member of the Women’s Political Caucus, helping those few women who were daring enough to run for office and to bring up nagging issues that no one, in particular men really wanted to talk about like day care, equal rights, pay equity —so in a way I was an ankle biter then, but, of course,now I’m aiming higher.

The Times they are a Changing. Women in Charge--not just in charge of the diapers and the dishes, or the elementary school class or maybe the family bank account… like many of our mothers were, but women in charge in a new way. All around us women are in positions of political leadership, like our new Lt. Governor Diane Denish, our Attorney General Patricia Madrid, the new Governor of Arizona, Albuquerque-bred Janet Napolitano. Women are fighting in Iraq, women are reporting on the war like one of my favorite correspondents-- NPR’s Ann Gerrels,. A Black woman named Condolezza Rice is even directing strategy there, and women are college presidents, cardiologists, CEOs and directors of research facilities and cancer centers.

Earlier this week I had an opportunity to meet a woman who, with her husband, has had a dramatic impact on human rights and the lives of low income families around the world—former first lady Rosalyn Carter. She was in Albuquerque, along with Betty Bumpers, wife of former Senator Dale Bumpers of Arkansas, to kick off an immunization campaign. New Mexico has one of the worst records of all the states when it comes to immunizing babies—can you believe it? At the bottom again.

But this time there was something different. Mrs. Carter and Mrs. Bumpers were greeted at Lovelace Pediatric Clinic by a united front of New Mexico officials—led by first lady Barbara Richardson, Cabinet Secretaries Pat Montoya of the Dept. of Health, Mary Dale Bolson, of the Children Youth and Families Department, and State Agency on Aging Director Michelle Lujan Grisham. The women were in charge. They have a plan, They are working together, across departments—no turf protection here—they have recruited private sector partners, they have support from the Governor’s office… and I have no doubt that they will succeed.

The next day, in the Albuquerque Journal, there was a headline about another event that occurred that same evening, a town hall attended by about 500 people. It read… “Political leaders take on Domestic Violence.” And do you know who those political leaders were? They were Barbara Richardson, Diane Denish, four women cabinet secretaries, House Majority leader Danice Picraux,, myself and a network of women who run shelters and programs for victims throughout the state.

Do you think they take this problem seriously?

Do you think that they might have the commitment, the connections, the skill and now the power to make a dent in what is becoming a New Mexico epidemic?

I do—It has already begun thanks to the women of New Mexico legislature, who, on a bipartisan basis, this year supported a bill that will impose a $5 fee on traffic violations, misdemeanors and felonies. The fee—will go to treatment programs for domestic violence offenders—because without addressing that, we will continue to react, and to be victims.

While I’m on the topic of the NM legislature, I’d like to let you in on a little history. Because we have lots to be proud of. As recently as 1987, there were only 2 (two) women in the NM Senate. Today there are 12. In 1987 there were only 9 women in the House; now there are 21. That makes 33 of us—out of 112—almost 30%. The national average is 22%, so we are better than the average bear.
Now… To what good fortune do we owe this dramatic increase in women in leadership positions? And, more importantly, how can we keep it going?

As I get older, I begin to think decade by decade. Remember the 70s—the women’s movement, Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinham, the struggle for the Equal Rights Amendment, Bella Abzug—it laid the groundwork for the victories of the 80s: the nomination of the first women for Vice President: Geraldine Ferraro, in New Mexico for the first woman who ran for the US Senate: Judy Pratt. I worked on both campaigns. And when we lost, Many of us went back to the grassroots, to the school boards to the ward meetings, to becoming appointed to boards and commissions where we got the experience to run for the legislature, the city council, the US Congress. Along the way, we drew on some skills we already had—resourcefulness, the ability to communicate, to network, to build coalitions.

During the 1990s, women began to step forward, using some of their traditional skills and new ones, too. Important new ones like fundraising, organizing, media relations. There were more mentors, and more models. In the political world we had Cory Aquino, Golda Mier, Margaret Thatcher—all heads of state in troubled times.

In 1995, I decided it was time that I give it the old college try—I am a university woman, by the way, as are many of the women I mentioned earlier. Overcoming a fear of failure, sick of the sense of powerlessness, and armed with the belief that I could do it better—I stepped forward, as a candidate for the Albuquerque City Council. Over a seven month period, I went door to door—probably to about 3,000 homes—running against a popular three-term incumbent. Remember-- women candidates, especially in the ‘80s and early ‘90s, have almost always been challengers, with trouble raising money and inspiring credibility. I ran a good campaign. I addressed issues of growth, crime and environmental protection. I learned a lot about my neighborhood.

I lost by nine votes.

I thought that my political career was over—that I would go back to my role as citizen and ankle biter. But, and, here’s a lesson--- even though I lost the battle, I won the war. People were impressed with my effort. Many though, gosh, if I had just gone out to vote, maybe she would have won. Maybe every vote does count. Maybe next time, I’ll get involved.

Well, miraculously, six months later, the twenty-year veteran Senator from my district decided to retire, leaving an open seat in the North Valley of Albuquerque. His Senate district overlapped the City Council District that I had just gone door to door in. It was a golden opportunity for me. I was dead tired, but I was also older and wiser… I had built even more support. People took me seriously, volunteered and contributed, and I won. Even though I had very stiff opposition in the Democratic primary, in a heavily Hispanic district that had never elected a woman for any position--especially someone who was an Anglo, a non-native who had lived there a mere 25 years-- I won. And I won handily, out polling both my primary opponents combined, and garnering almost 70% in the general election. Women were my core of support—I could not have done it without them. And I could not have won the second time without loosing the first.

I’ll leave you to draw your own lessons from my experience. To figure out how it fits into the larger question—how do we continue the momentum that has put more and more women in charge during the past two decades, But I think you already know the answer—it’s supporting women who are already there-- who are beginning to form a critical mass, who are already using their positions of power to recruit other women to run for office, to serve as faculty members, or fellow managers or as members of boards or commissions. It is supporting them as they tackle problems like domestic violence and early childhood disease that men haven’t taken as seriously but which actually figure quite large as stumbling blocks to economic development and a healthy society here in New Mexico.

And it is stepping forward yourselves, to serve as mentors, to run for office, to get involved with women’s political campaigns…to lobby the legislature, and to realize that nothing is free, you’ve got to work twice as hard—but it is possible. I”ve got a sign near my desk that is a quote from the German writer Goethe. And I look at it when I feel like I’m never going to make any progress with some of the big projects I’ve tackled—projects like campaign finance reform, taking on the pharmaceutical companies or the tobacco lobby.

I leave you with it today…. “Whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius and power and magic in it.

So, Be bold, be brave, remember-- from my story--- that failure’s not all it’s cracked up to be, sometimes-- for women-- it’s a prerequisite for greater success.

Thank you again for inviting me, I welcome the chance to explore this topic further in the panel discussion this afternoon