Hi Everyone! My name is Lauren, and I am the new intern for CA Women Lead. I feel absolutely honored by the chance to work for such an inspiring organization, comprised of such amazing women leaders throughout the state! I am so excited to share my very first blog post with everyone!
After reading Rachel’s blog post “JUMP!” I was reminded of a conversation I had with my mom the other day. I had just been visited by and spoken with some of my close friends who were in Berkeley for the summer. Needless to say I felt a bit homesick (or university-sick) after those conversations. Don’t get me wrong, I am absolutely enjoying all the new and eye-opening experiences Sacramento and my internship at CA Women Lead are providing for me, but for a brief moment I did miss Berkeley.
Like many women do when they are feeling down, I called my loving mother to make me feel better. However, she had very little sympathy for my desire to return home to my university. Stung by her lack of sympathy, I asked her why she felt this way. Her reply surprised me. “Lauren, at some point you have to choose between two paths: the safe path, or the scary path that may lead to change in the community, state, or even world. This summer, your internship, this is where you have started, and being homesick is a small price to pay for that.” These words stuck with me for the rest of the day, as I realized that I, too, had taken a “jump” from the safety of my university and into the new and scary world of Sacramento.
At some point, all women leaders must choose between two paths: the one of many who miss their opportunity to run for office or to be appointed to a position; and the one in which you take that jump to run for office or apply for an appointment, and hope for the best. I am proud to be working for an organizations that supports so many women who have taken “the road less traveled by,” because that is truly what “makes all the difference” in our state.
I have attached a related, inspirational, and personal-favorite poem that I hope inspires all, or at the very least, makes you think:
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
--“The Road Not Taken,” Robert Frost (1916)
Monday, July 18, 2011
Thursday, June 30, 2011
California Women Lead…. in their communities!
Champions for Change!
California Women Lead has joined forces with the Network for a Healthy California in their Champions for Change Campaign. The Network, an initiative of the California Department of Public Health, represents a statewide movement of state and local partners working collectively to prevent obesity and to improve the health status of low-income Californians. California Women Lead partners with the Network to help identify community leaders – California Women Lead members – who are interested in becoming Champions for Change and taking an active role in improving the health of their own neighborhoods. Champions for Change can help make positive and lasting changes by acting as Network spokespersons and promoting healthy eating and active living at community events. We had a great response to our pilot program and are currently working to make sure the women (and some men!) who volunteered to be champions are utilized in their communities by the Regional Collaboratives under the Network for a Health California.
We are proud of the number of CA Women Lead members who have stepped up to be spokespersons and advocates for healthy eating and active living. If you would like to see healthy changes in your own county, city, or school district, we would like to ask you to become a Champion for Change. Please email us at admin@cawomenlead.org
For more information on the Network for a Healthy California, visit http://cachampionsforchange.net.
California Women Lead has joined forces with the Network for a Healthy California in their Champions for Change Campaign. The Network, an initiative of the California Department of Public Health, represents a statewide movement of state and local partners working collectively to prevent obesity and to improve the health status of low-income Californians. California Women Lead partners with the Network to help identify community leaders – California Women Lead members – who are interested in becoming Champions for Change and taking an active role in improving the health of their own neighborhoods. Champions for Change can help make positive and lasting changes by acting as Network spokespersons and promoting healthy eating and active living at community events. We had a great response to our pilot program and are currently working to make sure the women (and some men!) who volunteered to be champions are utilized in their communities by the Regional Collaboratives under the Network for a Health California.
We are proud of the number of CA Women Lead members who have stepped up to be spokespersons and advocates for healthy eating and active living. If you would like to see healthy changes in your own county, city, or school district, we would like to ask you to become a Champion for Change. Please email us at admin@cawomenlead.org
For more information on the Network for a Healthy California, visit http://cachampionsforchange.net.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
CAMPAIGN FUNDRAISING--Strategies for Success!
Whether you are running for the State Legislature or your local water board, your campaign must have a strategy for fundraising. It will take some amount of money to win a campaign – you have to be able to tell people you want the job! Each campaign has three basic resources:
• Time – a non-renewable resource. You cannot change the date of the election and each day that passes you can’t get back. Make sure you use your time wisely.
• People – an active volunteer base can offset the need to raise large amounts of money. As soon as you decide to run make a list of all the people you know who can help you out. You may choose to interview and hire a consultant and a campaign manager. If you are running in a highly contested race, start planning early to get first crack at the most talented people.
• Money – You are trying to win an election, so each penny you spend should be used to reach that goal. Many a candidate has lost because they just ran out of money – don’t let that happen to you.
Once you have made the decision to run, sit down and put together your campaign budget. Make sure you are realistic. The chances of raising one million dollars for a school board race is a little farfetched, but what do you think you can raise and whom can you raise it from? Estimate how much it will cost to open a campaign office (or if you even need a campaign office), pay for phones (can you just use a cell phone?), computers, and hire staff (does your race need to have paid staff?). How much do you think you will spend on mail? (A LOT!) On advertising? Once you have developed your budget – STICK TO IT! Many campaigns are lost because the candidate and the campaign got off course.
Some people love fundraising; some people hate it. For women especially, fundraising can be a challenge. You can get over this hurdle by remembering that you are not asking for charity; you are asking people for an investment – an investment in YOU! If you really have problems with the thought of asking people for money, you may want to reconsider running for office. Every candidate has to do it, so prepare to put a lot of time in “dialing for dollars.”
Top Ten Reasons Why People
Contribute To Political Campaigns
10. They like the “perks” of being a donor.
9. They are pressured by their business associates or social contacts.
8. They always give.
7. They believe in the political party the candidate represents.
6. They want to support a winner.
5. They perceive the donation will give them access to the candidate once they are elected.
4. They do not like the opponent.
3. They believe in what the candidate stands for.
2. They are a friend, relative or associate of the candidate.
And the number one reason why people give to a candidate…
1. THEY WERE ASKED!
• Time – a non-renewable resource. You cannot change the date of the election and each day that passes you can’t get back. Make sure you use your time wisely.
• People – an active volunteer base can offset the need to raise large amounts of money. As soon as you decide to run make a list of all the people you know who can help you out. You may choose to interview and hire a consultant and a campaign manager. If you are running in a highly contested race, start planning early to get first crack at the most talented people.
• Money – You are trying to win an election, so each penny you spend should be used to reach that goal. Many a candidate has lost because they just ran out of money – don’t let that happen to you.
Once you have made the decision to run, sit down and put together your campaign budget. Make sure you are realistic. The chances of raising one million dollars for a school board race is a little farfetched, but what do you think you can raise and whom can you raise it from? Estimate how much it will cost to open a campaign office (or if you even need a campaign office), pay for phones (can you just use a cell phone?), computers, and hire staff (does your race need to have paid staff?). How much do you think you will spend on mail? (A LOT!) On advertising? Once you have developed your budget – STICK TO IT! Many campaigns are lost because the candidate and the campaign got off course.
Some people love fundraising; some people hate it. For women especially, fundraising can be a challenge. You can get over this hurdle by remembering that you are not asking for charity; you are asking people for an investment – an investment in YOU! If you really have problems with the thought of asking people for money, you may want to reconsider running for office. Every candidate has to do it, so prepare to put a lot of time in “dialing for dollars.”
Top Ten Reasons Why People
Contribute To Political Campaigns
10. They like the “perks” of being a donor.
9. They are pressured by their business associates or social contacts.
8. They always give.
7. They believe in the political party the candidate represents.
6. They want to support a winner.
5. They perceive the donation will give them access to the candidate once they are elected.
4. They do not like the opponent.
3. They believe in what the candidate stands for.
2. They are a friend, relative or associate of the candidate.
And the number one reason why people give to a candidate…
1. THEY WERE ASKED!
Friday, June 24, 2011
On the Weiner Scandal...
I debated on writing about the Antony Weiner scandal, but was promoted by another blog post I read from the Southeastern Institute for Women in Politics. It seems as if sex scandals involving elected officials are becoming an everyday occurrence. Turn on the television and the lead story lately has been our own former governor and his infidelity, along with a United States Congressman and his “problems.” On the way home a few weeks ago I listened to his press conference and was grateful my seven year old daughter was not with me. But I have to wonder, why is it men who are in elected office think they can get away with this behavior? What it tells me is that, even in 2011, politics is still a boys’ club!
What I have found over many years from working in the political arena is that it is very seldom (if at all) that we hear of a woman embroiled in a “sexting” scandal or anything else of that nature. This is one more reason why we need more women in elected office, especially in California.
What is disappointing when we hear about elected officials like Anthony Weiner is their blatant disrespect for the office they have the privilege to serve in. Further, these actions take all elected officials down in the public’s eye; despite that there are many who work hard for the people who they represent. This makes it that much harder to recruit good candidates, and especially women, to run for office. That is why in California we see the number of women running for and getting elected to office declining.
I have often said: Women decide to run for office to make a difference, to solve a problem. Over the years when I talk to a women serving in office, her story starts out the same “Well, I was frustrated because my city council, school board, etc. was not doing X, X, and X so I decided to run.” Men on the other hand tend to run because they see it as giving them a purpose, a title. That is not to say there are not good men out there serving in elected office, but it has long been said: Ask a women to run for President and she will respond – “Well, I don’t know if I am qualified” – even though she is, but ask a man and he will respond “Why, that is a great idea, I think I will” – even when he has no qualifications.
Research also shows that women take the “job” of elected office much more seriously, mostly because it takes more work for women to get elected and because they are acutely aware of the scrutiny they are under. In my opinion, women take the impact of the type of behavior demonstrated by Anthony Weiner more seriously; recognizing the impact it can have, not only on their careers, but on their family as well.
So what is next? Where do we go from here? 2012 can be a great year for women in California politics. With new legislative and congressional lines, drawn by an independent board, and an open primary, there will be ample opportunities for women to run and be elected. That does not even count the opportunities on the local level. The first step is the hardest, and that is making the decision to run, but you will be surprised who turns out to support you!
California Women Lead is here to help. With nine chapters throughout the state and a number of training opportunities in the next few months, we want to help you achieve your political goals. Visit www.cawomenlead.org for upcoming events in your area.
It will be up to women, in my opinion, to bring back the dignity and raise the bar for elected officials in all levels of government. I hope you will join me and CA Women Lead in making that happen.
What I have found over many years from working in the political arena is that it is very seldom (if at all) that we hear of a woman embroiled in a “sexting” scandal or anything else of that nature. This is one more reason why we need more women in elected office, especially in California.
What is disappointing when we hear about elected officials like Anthony Weiner is their blatant disrespect for the office they have the privilege to serve in. Further, these actions take all elected officials down in the public’s eye; despite that there are many who work hard for the people who they represent. This makes it that much harder to recruit good candidates, and especially women, to run for office. That is why in California we see the number of women running for and getting elected to office declining.
I have often said: Women decide to run for office to make a difference, to solve a problem. Over the years when I talk to a women serving in office, her story starts out the same “Well, I was frustrated because my city council, school board, etc. was not doing X, X, and X so I decided to run.” Men on the other hand tend to run because they see it as giving them a purpose, a title. That is not to say there are not good men out there serving in elected office, but it has long been said: Ask a women to run for President and she will respond – “Well, I don’t know if I am qualified” – even though she is, but ask a man and he will respond “Why, that is a great idea, I think I will” – even when he has no qualifications.
Research also shows that women take the “job” of elected office much more seriously, mostly because it takes more work for women to get elected and because they are acutely aware of the scrutiny they are under. In my opinion, women take the impact of the type of behavior demonstrated by Anthony Weiner more seriously; recognizing the impact it can have, not only on their careers, but on their family as well.
So what is next? Where do we go from here? 2012 can be a great year for women in California politics. With new legislative and congressional lines, drawn by an independent board, and an open primary, there will be ample opportunities for women to run and be elected. That does not even count the opportunities on the local level. The first step is the hardest, and that is making the decision to run, but you will be surprised who turns out to support you!
California Women Lead is here to help. With nine chapters throughout the state and a number of training opportunities in the next few months, we want to help you achieve your political goals. Visit www.cawomenlead.org for upcoming events in your area.
It will be up to women, in my opinion, to bring back the dignity and raise the bar for elected officials in all levels of government. I hope you will join me and CA Women Lead in making that happen.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
JUMP!
By Rachel Michelin
My seven year old daughter is on our local swim team, so many of my summer afternoons are spent by the community pool. The other day the coaches decided to give the kids a “treat” and let them jump off the diving board. Our local pool has a normal diving board, as well as a “high” dive. My daughter had no problems jumping off the lower diving board, but as I watched her stand in line for the high dive I noticed she was letting other kids jump in front of her. I could tell she really wanted to do it, but was scared. I walked over to her and told her she didn’t have to go off the high dive, but she looked at me with that determined look in her eye and said she really wanted to do it. So, being the good mommy I am, I walked back to my chair and waited. She stopped letting kids jump in front of her, climbed up the ladder and after of few moments of hesitation JUMPED! As she got out of the pool her face said it all – a big smile that said “I DID IT!”
It made me think about running for office. How many women are out there waiting “in line” to take the big plunge only to let people, in many cases men, “cut in line ahead of them?” I meet so many women from thought-out the state who tell me they really want to run, but just aren’t ready to take “the plunge.” I relate that to my daughter waiting in line. The thing was at some point she was going to have to make a decision and either go for it or leave, because mommy was not going to sit there all night and eventually the pool would close – she would miss her opportunity – like so many women I meet who struggle with the decision to “take the plunge” and miss their opportunity to run for office.
Like my seven year old, I took the political “plunge” a few years ago. While I did not win, like my daughter, my campaign ended with a big smile on my face and the realization that “I DID IT!” It was a great feeling and one that I hope other women can experience.
Running for office is a lot like jumping off the high dive. From the ground it looks scary – too high, the water will be cold. Then you wait in line, sometimes letting people go ahead of you, until finally you realize it is now or never. Slowly you walk up the ladder, knowing you are getting closer and closer to the end of the board. You walk out and look down; that is your moment. When I filed my papers for the first time it felt like diving off the high dive, but you know what – I loved it! The water was cool and refreshing and the jump exhilarating – so much so that I will jump again!
Come join those who have “taken the plunge” – win or lose I know you will enjoy the ride!
My seven year old daughter is on our local swim team, so many of my summer afternoons are spent by the community pool. The other day the coaches decided to give the kids a “treat” and let them jump off the diving board. Our local pool has a normal diving board, as well as a “high” dive. My daughter had no problems jumping off the lower diving board, but as I watched her stand in line for the high dive I noticed she was letting other kids jump in front of her. I could tell she really wanted to do it, but was scared. I walked over to her and told her she didn’t have to go off the high dive, but she looked at me with that determined look in her eye and said she really wanted to do it. So, being the good mommy I am, I walked back to my chair and waited. She stopped letting kids jump in front of her, climbed up the ladder and after of few moments of hesitation JUMPED! As she got out of the pool her face said it all – a big smile that said “I DID IT!”
It made me think about running for office. How many women are out there waiting “in line” to take the big plunge only to let people, in many cases men, “cut in line ahead of them?” I meet so many women from thought-out the state who tell me they really want to run, but just aren’t ready to take “the plunge.” I relate that to my daughter waiting in line. The thing was at some point she was going to have to make a decision and either go for it or leave, because mommy was not going to sit there all night and eventually the pool would close – she would miss her opportunity – like so many women I meet who struggle with the decision to “take the plunge” and miss their opportunity to run for office.
Like my seven year old, I took the political “plunge” a few years ago. While I did not win, like my daughter, my campaign ended with a big smile on my face and the realization that “I DID IT!” It was a great feeling and one that I hope other women can experience.
Running for office is a lot like jumping off the high dive. From the ground it looks scary – too high, the water will be cold. Then you wait in line, sometimes letting people go ahead of you, until finally you realize it is now or never. Slowly you walk up the ladder, knowing you are getting closer and closer to the end of the board. You walk out and look down; that is your moment. When I filed my papers for the first time it felt like diving off the high dive, but you know what – I loved it! The water was cool and refreshing and the jump exhilarating – so much so that I will jump again!
Come join those who have “taken the plunge” – win or lose I know you will enjoy the ride!
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Reflections on 2008
By Rachel Michelin
Another election year is underway! As eyes now look to the 2012 Presidential Election, I wonder what impact it will have for women. I remember four years ago watching the Democratic Convention with my daughters and feeling a little disappointment as Hillary Clinton threw her support behind Barack Obama. Regardless of who you supported in the primary that year, or your political affiliation, it was sad to see the dream of a woman running for president, as a major party nominee, die. But two days later I, along with most in the country, was caught off guard when John McCain selected a woman – Sarah Palin – to be his running mate. So a week later, my daughters and I watched her give her acceptance speech.
Regardless of who you supported in the 2008 election, that year women from across the county debated the idea of a woman vice-president; a woman one step away from the most powerful position in the world. Could she do the job? Did she have enough experience? How would she balance her job and family? What I found so interesting was that those questions were never asked of the male candidate. As we look to the 2012 election, will we ask male candidates those questions? Will we ask if HE can balance a career and family?
2008 was an exciting time for women in politics. It was fun to watch it unfold. And I think election 2008 was good for women in politics because barriers were certainly broken.
The thing that hit home most with me that year was watching as Hillary conceded. As my daughters sat around me I wondered if they would ever see a woman president in their lifetimes. I think having a woman run for the nomination, as well as having a woman receive the vice-presidential nomination, puts us one step closer. But that step is only possible because of all the steps women have taken before them – women of both political parties.
I agree with Hilary Clinton in that she did not break the glass ceiling in 2008, she shattered it; but it will take more confident women to follow her lead and take the risk to run.
I am interested in what you think! Send me your comments and thoughts and we will post them in our next newsletter and on our web page. Email me at admin@cawomenlead.org.
Hope to see everyone this evening at the Oakland Appointments Training tonight! Lets take one more step forward for women in politics together!
Another election year is underway! As eyes now look to the 2012 Presidential Election, I wonder what impact it will have for women. I remember four years ago watching the Democratic Convention with my daughters and feeling a little disappointment as Hillary Clinton threw her support behind Barack Obama. Regardless of who you supported in the primary that year, or your political affiliation, it was sad to see the dream of a woman running for president, as a major party nominee, die. But two days later I, along with most in the country, was caught off guard when John McCain selected a woman – Sarah Palin – to be his running mate. So a week later, my daughters and I watched her give her acceptance speech.
Regardless of who you supported in the 2008 election, that year women from across the county debated the idea of a woman vice-president; a woman one step away from the most powerful position in the world. Could she do the job? Did she have enough experience? How would she balance her job and family? What I found so interesting was that those questions were never asked of the male candidate. As we look to the 2012 election, will we ask male candidates those questions? Will we ask if HE can balance a career and family?
2008 was an exciting time for women in politics. It was fun to watch it unfold. And I think election 2008 was good for women in politics because barriers were certainly broken.
The thing that hit home most with me that year was watching as Hillary conceded. As my daughters sat around me I wondered if they would ever see a woman president in their lifetimes. I think having a woman run for the nomination, as well as having a woman receive the vice-presidential nomination, puts us one step closer. But that step is only possible because of all the steps women have taken before them – women of both political parties.
I agree with Hilary Clinton in that she did not break the glass ceiling in 2008, she shattered it; but it will take more confident women to follow her lead and take the risk to run.
I am interested in what you think! Send me your comments and thoughts and we will post them in our next newsletter and on our web page. Email me at admin@cawomenlead.org.
Hope to see everyone this evening at the Oakland Appointments Training tonight! Lets take one more step forward for women in politics together!
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Welcome to CA Women Talk!
Welcome to the California Women Lead blog: CA Women Talk! We hope you check it out often, as we share thoughts on the role of women in California’s political arena.
Also, if you have something you would like to share email us at admin@cawomenlead.org and we just might post it!
As always, thank you for sharing in our mission to ENGAGE•EMPOWER•ELECT!
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