By: Jamie Fleury
With an almost-all female Democratic ticket in Michigan this year, a record number of women will assume office in 2019. For the first time ever in Michigan’s history, voters have elected three women to hold the state’s highest positions – Governor, Secretary of State, and Attorney General.
In an exciting race, former prosecutor Gretchen Whitmer won the gubernatorial seat over Republican Bill Schuette. Jocelyn Benson was also elected to Secretary of State and is the first Democrat to take office in 28 years. Alongside her, fellow Democrat Dana Nessel will become the second woman to ever assume the office of the Attorney General.
“The candidates themselves energized people to come out. Women turned out and proved we didn’t need men! It was pretty amazing,” said Karen Zivi, Chair of the Board of Directors at the Progressive Women’s Alliance, a political action committee that helps elect women to office.
But that’s not all; women dominated in other state elections as well. Debbie Stabenow held onto her U.S. Senate seat and three new female Democratic representatives — Haley Stevens, Elissa Slotkin and Rashida Tlaib — were elected to Congress. They will work in conjunction with Debbie Dingell and Brenda Lawrence, both of whom won re-election.
And in the state House of Representatives, women won at least eight more seats than they held last term, upping their ranks from 33 to 41. In the state Senate, women nearly tripled the number of seats they hold — from 4 to 11. Further, voters also picked women for the state Supreme Court – electing incumbent Elizabeth Clement and newcomer Megan Cavanagh.
When compared to the rest of the country, Michigan is one of the most progressive states in terms of representation in public office. Only about 20% of state Attorney Generals are women (10/50). And today, women only fill about 30% of Secretary of State positions nationwide (15/47). In 2018, only 12% of governors in the United States were women (6/50).
But Michigan is helping to raise that number and is one of only ten states who have opted to elect a female governor in 2019. Women also dominated elections in the states of Kansas, Maine, and South Dakota, helping Michigan increase the national percentage of female governors from 12% to 20%.
Michigan’s future is female, in part, thanks to the efforts made by the Progressive Women’s Alliance (PWA) over the last decade.
Founded in 2004 by employment law attorney Noreen Meyers, PWA is a non-partisan organization whose mission is to influence public policy through the election of progressive candidates. The organization also offers free educational programming (including training for elected officials) in combination with their fundraising efforts.
Meyers remembers the factors that motivated her to start the organization well.
“When we started, the fundraising climate for women was abysmal. The total political giving in the U.S. by women was around .01% or something like that, which of course, had a great deal of effect on our overall influence,” she stated.
Historically, women have been hesitant to spend money on politics, so Meyers wanted to create an organization that would encourage women’s participation and giving. In addition to serving as a founding member on PWA’s Board, Meyers also works on the campaign finance committees for Senator Stabenow and Governor Whitmer.
Meyers remembers that, at the time of PWA’s conception, the leaders of the Kent County Democratic party were certain that a progressive woman couldn’t win in West Michigan.
She wanted to prove them wrong. Thus, PWA was born, and Rosalynn Bliss became the first candidate that the organization went to bat for. Bliss went on to become the City of Grand Rapids’ first female mayor and is still in office today.
Since its inception, the Progressive Women’s Alliance has developed an impressive reputation by helping to elect the State of Michigan’s first woman senator, governor, and state representative.
“My proudest accomplishment was the election results in Michigan this year, though, absolutely,” said Meyers. “But I’m also proud that we’re still going strong after 15 years and are only getting stronger.”
Shortly after the 2016 election, Meyers recruited Karen Zivi – an Associate Professor of Political Science at Grand Valley State University – to lead the Board of Directors at PWA. As Chair of the Board, Zivi sets the organization’s agenda, runs their monthly meetings, and helps with fundraising strategies (as well as the cultivation of donors).
“It’s not like we can take credit for all the women running, but we helped set the ground work, particularly in conservative West Michigan,” said Zivi. “Gretchen, Jocelyn, Winnie [Brinks, Senator] and Rachel [Hood, Representative] have all been prior PWA endorsees. So we’re not just responding to the moment; I think that PWA helped shape the moment and make it possible.”
In more recent years, members of PWA have seen political activism grow exponentially. They attribute this to backlash from the 2016 election results.
“The numbers and intensity of activism has grown over time,” noted Meyers. “And more significantly, the belief that we are making a difference has changed, as opposed to, ‘Oh, it doesn’t matter, there’s nothing we can do.’ I think that women have seen that we can inspire change, and that’s made a profound difference,” stated Meyers.
Women in Michigan have already played a significant role in moving the state forward in a more progressive direction. Recently, women helped pass proposals to legalize marijuana for recreational use and also backed legislation aimed at partisan gerrymandering and expanding voting options.
Even though PWA endorses male and female candidates alike, the organization strives to elect more women to public office at all levels –from school board to state Senate.
“I think that women can put their egos aside and be more cooperative with one another,” said Meyers. “Our motivations are different because of the experiences we’ve shared, and we have a deeper understanding of others’ challenges and vulnerabilities because we’ve been there ourselves.”
From Zivi’s view, these traits are precisely what make women so qualified to run the state’s highest elected offices.
“I think there’s a way in which some women, at least the ones running for office in our state, have a real understanding of the complexities of injustice and oppression and have the capacity and creativity to respond,” remarked Zivi. “I also think that women work so hard. There’s just no question that they can benefit our state and the public at large.”
Still, barriers continue to exist for many women who seek political office.
In Meyers’ experience, women tend to have more hesitation than men do when making the decision to pursue politics. She says that most women have to be asked multiple times before even considering running for office – whereas most men hardly need convincing.
Meyers hopes this will change as more women run for office and as their political involvement becomes more normalized. Further, most women who are newer to electoral politics will have to knock on many more doors than others, simply because they are not as connected to big wealth as other politicians.
“These races are extraordinarily expensive and it’s hard to raise the resources, so that’s a huge issue,” said Zivi. “But the other thing is the gerrymandering; it’s ridiculous. You can literally run the best candidate, and even if every potential supporter showed up to vote, it wouldn’t matter. That’s why Proposal 2 is so important and why its passage was necessary.”
Despite these barriers, Michigan’s female politicians proved that they can overcome anything that stands in their way in 2019. As for PWA, Meyers is hopeful for the future and is certain that the organization will see its numbers grow in the upcoming year.
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