Tag: Rutgers University

“Boys make the rules?” Centanni recalled her daughter asking her during that visit after quickly noticing that men greatly outnumbered women in the Legislature. “She, of her own accord, noticed the difference – even at that age,” Centanni said during a panel discussion at LSU that was part of an event Wednesday examining hurdles that women have to overcome when they run for office and the disparities between genders in state government. In addition to the state’s all-male Congressional delegation, there are no female statewide office holders in Louisiana currently, after no women ran as major candidates for statewide office in 2015. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, about 15 percent of the members of the Louisiana State House and Senate are women — up from 12.5 percent at the end of the last term in 2015, according to figures tracked by the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. “So the question is, why the disparity?” “The data proves that women don’t run at the same levels,” she answered. Laura Cox Kaplan, Republican co-chair of Running Start, a non-profit that encourages female candidates, said women are often less likely than their male counterparts to see themselves as possible public leaders. “We have to think very differently about how we encourage women and engage them to run for office.” The event took a closer look at how a recent debate among the Louisiana Ethics Board whether child care should be allowed as a campaign expense illustrated the gendered political environment candidates face. “People feel like they can just say anything in the world,” Stokes said. “I think as a woman I bring gifts to the table.” Mizell is the first woman to represent her district, and she said no woman has ever served on the local Washington Parish council. “I believe there will be more women (in the state Legislature),” she said.

And the results? For the first time in the history of these United States, the proportion of women in the House of Representatives jumped out of the teens (19 percent) to reach 23 percent; the U.S. Senate gained one percentage point to reach 24 percent. More: Mickey Mouse, Jeb Bush and Jesus: Write-in voters in Escambia, Santa Rosa make a statement The Florida Legislature will begin its 2019 session with 49 women — 37 in the House and 12 in the Senate — moving that needle from 26 percent to 31 percent. Out of 61 elected offices in Escambia County, including circuit judges who preside in Escambia, women will now hold 22, a gain of two offices as Ann Hill joins two other women on the Pensacola City Council and Lacey Powell Clark is installed in February as a new circuit judge. In Santa Rosa County, out of 64 elected offices women will now hold 17, a net gain of two offices. Gulf Breeze City Councilwoman Renee Bookout chose not to run for re-election, leaving the council with one woman in office. Though our local percentages look good in comparison with congressional and state numbers, we have some glass ceilings to break through. It’s been too long since women served on the county commission in the two counties and in the Florida House, and women have yet to make it to the U.S. House District 1 seat, Florida Senate and the office of Mayor of Pensacola. It was also a particularly interesting election cycle for the institute as our significant membership growth this year — we now have more than 100 members — included a number of men who ran for U.S. House, Florida House, Escambia County and Santa Rosa County commissions, Pensacola mayor (three) and Pensacola City Council. While our mission is laser-focused on the advancement of women into elected and appointed positions, an ancillary component of that mission is the fostering of collegiality and civility among all who enter into public service.

The Centre for American Women and Politics and Rutgers University, which has been keeping track of the number of women elected, showed that even before all the races had been called, women had broken previous records in the Congress. Many of these women are trailblazers in other respects too. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Abby Finkenauer of Iowa are both 29 years old, making them the youngest women ever elected to Congress. Davids will also make history as the first openly gay woman of colour in Congress, and forms part of what the New York Times has described as an “LGBT wave” who hope to counter the threat posed to civil rights by legislation such as the so-called “bathroom bill” and the Trump administration’s attempts to define transgender out of existence. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota will together be the first Muslim women in Congress. Their stories are both remarkable: Tlaib is a social justice attorney who grew up in Detroit, the eldest of 14 children born to Palestinian parents, and ran on a progressive platform including a $15 minimum wage and Medicare-for-all. Omar is a refugee from Somalia, who spent four years in a Kenyan refugee camp before arriving in the US aged eight and is similarly running on a left-wing platform. Ayanna Pressley has become the first black woman to represent to Massachusetts in Congress, and Jahana Hayes the first black woman to represent Connecticut in Congress. Things are looking less hopeful in Georgia, where progressives had high hopes that Stacey Abrams could become the first black woman appointed to governor. Analysis by ABC suggests that minorities, women and young people are voting in higher numbers than usual, which boosts the Democratic vote and could help explain voters’ support for diverse candidates with non-traditional backgrounds.

“Well, look at that, who says you can't run a woman in Jersey,” a Democratic Party official told the candidate, Mikie Sherrill. She lives in Montclair, N.J., with her husband and four kids. Suburban districts like the NJ 11th are changing, along with the rest of the country. But Sherrill talks about being a veteran more than about her gender. Men have been running on their military record since General George Washington became president. And this appears to be part of the Democratic Party strategy to woo moderate voters, especially white men who have left the party. “I can tell you who I associate with,” Sherrill responded. It's not universal among all women.” A key part of the strategy for moderate candidates like Mikie Sherrill is wooing back white voters who have left the Democratic Party. Another of Sherrill's strategies is to get her face-to-face with every voter in the district. Let's focus on taking back the House of Representatives."

WASHINGTON — Tragedy and terror have dominated the last 72 hours in American politics. While most politicians, Democrats and Republicans, see this as a problem, President Trump sees it as an opportunity. Oct. 28, 201801:55 Consider Trump’s rally in Illinois on Saturday just hours after the shooting in Pittsburgh. “This evil anti-Semitic attack is an assault on all of us. On the caravan: “Republicans want no crime, and no caravans, right?... So I can’t call her Pocahontas anymore, but I think I will anyway, do you mind?” On his critics and opponents: “You have the haters and they continue to hate. “Our political rhetoric has become much more demonizing. Actually, it is their Fake & Dishonest reporting which is causing problems far greater than they understand!” But how can the president participate in finding a solution to the division and hatred when he doesn’t see them as problems — but instead conditions to exploit? With eight days to go until the 2018 midterms, it is very possible that the pipe bomb scare and shootings in Pittsburgh are the final issue-events of this campaign season. But with eight days left… Trump, GOP defiant that incendiary rhetoric didn’t cause the recent violence The Washington Post: “President Trump and his Republican allies remained defiant Sunday amid allegations from critics that Trump’s incendiary attacks on political rivals and racially charged rhetoric on the campaign trail bear some culpability for the climate surrounding a spate of violence in the United States.” More: “Trump, who has faced calls to tone down his public statements, signaled that he would do no such thing — berating billionaire liberal activist Tom Steyer, a target of a mail bomb sent by a Trump supporter, as a ‘crazed & stumbling lunatic’ on Twitter, after Steyer said on CNN that Trump and the Republican Party have created an atmosphere of ‘political violence.’” Vice President Mike Pence told NBC’s Vaughn Hillyard this when asked about Trump’s language: "Look, everyone has their own style, and frankly, people on both sides of the aisle use strong language..." Trump “reads the dutiful words of unity and grief … that aides put in front of him, but he refuses to stick to the script” The New York Times: “The president has made clear he does not see national harmony as his mission.

A record number of women are running for the U.S. House, Senate and state legislatures this year – more than any other election in U.S. history. But in the two years before the 2018 midterm election, amid marches for women’s rights and the growing #MeToo movement, something shifted in a field that has historically paved an easier path for men: “Women are running whether or not Democrats and Republicans invite them to,” said Ange-Marie Hancock Alfaro, a political science professor at the University of Southern California. “It’s a sea change.” A record 3,379 women have won nomination for state legislatures across the country, breaking 2016’s record of 2,649, according to the Center for American Women and Politics. And 235 women won nominations in U.S. House races, breaking the previous 2016 record of 167. Twenty-two women won major-party nominations for U.S. Senate, breaking the record of 18 set in 2012. According to David Wasserman of the Cook Political Report – a nonpartisan group that analyzes campaigns and elections – women have won 43 percent of Democratic House primary races, and Republican women have won 13 percent of their party’s primaries. 26 for representation of women in the state legislature (25 percent) compared with the proportion of women in the state (50 percent). Hill, a law professor, had accused Thomas of sexual harassment. She’s expected to become the first black woman elected to Congress from Massachusetts; no Republican candidate is running against her. “We’re not going to see 240 years of women’s underrepresentation in politics end in one election cycle,” Walsh said.

Researchers at Rutgers University’s Bloustein School of Public Planning and Public Policy essentially tried to punt on determining if economic incentives and tax breaks really help New Jersey, saying it was too early to draw conclusions, according to a report on NJ.com. But the report did point out that the state’s Economic Development Agency (EDA) might be giving away too many tax credits as well as “redundant” bonuses. In five years, the state awarded a total of $5.4 billion in tax credits. Trump’s been very, very good for these Jersey Democrats. Is it worth it for New Jersey to dole out billions of dollars to lure corporations to the Garden State? NJ.com Read more Phil Murphy, public workers union agree on $34M contract Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration on Thursday announced it has agreed to a $34 million contract with 6,500 state employees who have been working without one since 2015. An increasing number of dogs in New Jersey are being treated for intentional and accidental marijuana exposure. New Jersey taxes vices more than most other states As New Jersey’s feuding Democratic politicians debated which taxes to raise earlier this year, they agreed on one thing: sinners should pay more. The Record Read more

Hillary Clinton speaks with Ruth Mandel, Director, Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University, talking about politics, American democracy, her career and women’s role in the political movement at the Rutgers Athletic Center Staff Video/Bob Karp PISCATAWAY — Hillary Rodham Clinton had a clear message for voters during a talk she gave at Rutgers on Thursday: vote in the midterm elections and encourage more women to get politically involved. Clinton, the former Democratic presidential candidate, praised the Women’s March and March for Our Lives national movements, as well as the surge in the number of women running for office, as positive signs that voters are engaged and taking a stand for what matters to them. The university paid Clinton $25,000 for her appearance from an endowment fund, which is not funded by tuition or public funds, a university spokesperson said. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, who has represented the 11th district for 12 terms, decided not to seek reelection earlier this year. Continues under video Throughout her talk, Clinton highlighted this growing movement and pressed the importance of voting. “It’s not easy because most people don’t vote and most people don’t show up and most people don’t see it as the powerful tool that it is,” the former U.S. senator said. She talked about the hardships of being criticized by the media and being called “shrill” or teased for over-preparing for a presidential debate. “And we should be very clear that we still don’t have enough women in politics, and we still don’t have enough women in elected office, but it’s about time that women were allowed to be themselves the way men are allowed to be themselves.” Since President Donald Trump took office, there has been a reported surge in women seeking political office as part of the women’s movement. The organization, she said, also supports women running for public office. “The numbers of women who are running in these midterm elections and special elections that we’ve seen in the last couple of months is very encouraging to me," she said.