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GOVERNOR MARTHA LAYNE COLLINS
Women have always been the backbone of the Democratic Party. They have been the people who registered the voters . . .
rang the doorbells . . . made the phone calls . . . stuffed the
envelopes . . . and did the grassroots work that is so necessary to get
our candidates elected. But today, more of those women are stepping out from behind
the scenes . . . and running for office themselves. The most recent round of primaries produced an unprecedented
number of women candidates for the fall general election. There are even some races with only women . . .
like the Nebraska Governor's race . . . and both a Senate and a House
race in Maryland. The fact that so many more women are running for public
office . . . and winning . . . has gotten a great deal of public
attention . . . but most of this year's candidates have more in common
than their gender. Virtually all of them are more identified with the concerns
of their communities and their parties . . . . than with causes that
would be considered "feminist." They talk about the problems of schools . . . farms . . . and
creating jobs. Those are
universal issues . . . not just women's issues. Most of them have a reputation as activists . . . and people
who can get things done. Many of them entered politics as volunteers. Those are promising signs for women in politics.
It will be a long time before we see equal numbers of men and
women in office . . . if indeed that ever happens. But women politicians are becoming less of an oddity . . .
and I think the trend will continue. As more women run for office . . . and as more women are
successful . . . the public and the press will pay less attention to
gender. Voters are becoming more definite in expressing what they
want in a governor . . . a senator . . .
or a mayor. They want somebody who'll do something.
They want leaders who can deal with serious issues . . . find
workable solutions . . . and make tough decisions. When candidates like that emerge . . . gender doesn't matter. But today, I still hear people say that a woman has to be
twice as good to go half as far . . . in politics or any other field. I do know that women officeholders are still being watched
more closely than men. I find that I have to weigh my words a little more carefully. I have to be aggressive . . . without being abrasive. I have to be tough and firm . . . without being shrill or
strident. I have to be adamant . . . without being stubborn. Women walk a fine line . . . and I'll be interested to see
how that changes as more women move into public office. There are some changes we can already anticipate. Next year . . . when the National Governor's Association
meets again . . . there is certain to be at least one more woman
governor. That will mean Bill will have more male company at the NGA
spouses' luncheon. That event was called the wives' luncheon until Bill attended
for the first time . . . and the other spouses were so delighted that
they changed the name in his honor. Maybe more of these new women officeholders will have some of
the other problems I've experienced. Like the time . . . at the same NGA meeting . . . when the
President hosted a reception for all the Governors and our spouses. A couple of White House aides lined all of us up to greet the
President . . . but we weren't told that the order was supposed to be
Governor first and spouse second. Bill
and I were almost up to the President when someone finally realized that
I was the Governor . . . not Bill. Or the time when I was Lieutenant Governor . . . I was
presiding in the Senate when an aide approached me with a very serious
expression on his face and an official-looking note in his hand. It was from my daughter Marla . . . asking if I knew where
her cheerleading outfit was. Or the time I was attending an event at the Fairgrounds and
walked into the women's restroom . . . only to be followed by a state
trooper and two male cabinet secretaries. Just the other day, an out-of-state reporter was asking a
Kentucky reporter what kind of job he thought I was doing.
He hemmed and hawed for a minute . . . and she finally said,
"What's the problem with the Governor?" The reporter said, "Well, sometimes we just don't like a
woman telling us what to do." I suppose those things happen to every female officeholder .
. . but they'll happen less often as more of us take office. I'm
reminded of the day I was inaugurated as Governor.
You may remember that I rode to the ceremony in a horse-drawn
carriage. Leaving
downtown Frankfort, we turned on to the Capitol Avenue Bridge that
crosses the Kentucky River. From that bridge, you have a commanding view of the long
approach to the Capitol Building . . . and seeing how hard the horses
were working, we began to realize that we were about to go up a
considerable incline. The
carriage driver . . . Dinwiddie Lampton . . . turned to me and said,
"You know, it sure is a long, steep climb to the Capitol." I looked at him and said, "Dinwiddie, you have no idea
how long . . . and how steep." It is a long, steep climb . . . for both men
and women. That's why we're
so fortunate to have people like you working for us to make the climb a
little easier. The women . . . and the men . . . who run the
races and hold the offices may get the lion's share of attention . . .
but we know who does the nitty-gritty work. We appreciate your contributions . . . we're grateful for
them everyday . . . because
we know firsthand what a difference you make. Thank you . . . and God bless you.
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