Greg Gilbert: On Encouraging Women in Local Politics
Of second-term City Councilor Greg Gilbert, Common Sense asked,
``What do you think could be done to bring more women into the
political arena in Duluth?''
Greg: ``While everyone seems to agree that more women and people of
color need to be elected to public office in Duluth, little seems to
have been done about it since the all-male City Council was elected
last year. With the Mayor’s position and five City Council seats up
for grabs in 2003, it’s not too early to think about this issue.
Gender equality in our city is certainly a complex topic, with many reasons underlying why we currently have such a male-dominated situation. Whatever the reasons this has developed, however, I believe there are concrete ways in which we can tackle the problem. We might, for example, consider these ideas:
- The Mayor and the City Council should make it a goal to appoint more women and people of color to city boards and commissions. These positions have long served as a training ground for elected public office. Many City Councilors, for example, have begun their political careers by serving on the Planning Commission or on other such appointed bodies.
- The Mayor and the City Council should hire more women and people of color for city managerial positions. Not only are all of our city-elected officials currently men, but the Administrative Assistant, City Clerk, City Attorney and nearly all department heads are all men as well. This sends the wrong message to women and people of color who are interested in serving.
- The city should create more opportunities for candidates to get their message out to the public without cost. It’s not uncommon for city-wide races to cost more than $25,000 and for district races to cost more than $10,000. The high cost of running a campaign is a barrier for women and people of color in seeking public office.
- The city should take a leadership role in encouraging positive political campaigns. Recent negative campaigns and the use of attack ads, especially directed against those who support more progressive policies, discourages good candidates from running for office.
- The city should put together an information network of political experts and volunteers and make these resources available to all potential candidates. In this way, members of the general public would have a way to find out what you need to know to run for political office in Duluth.''
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