Despite the concern of two newly elected state representatives that politics might be viewed by women as “a good ol’ boys club,” the percentage of women in the Arizona Legislature is higher than the national average, and they are near their highest share of seats, which occurred in 1997.

Nationally, women will hold about 22 per cent of the seats in next year’s state houses, much the same share as over the past five years, according to the Women’s Legislature Network, a program of the National Conference of State Legislatures.

In Arizona, with the election and re-election this year of 30 women (20 representatives and 10 senators) to the Legislature, their share of the 90-seats at the Capitol increases to 33.3 per cent, up from 26.7 per cent in the 2002 election. Women in the 46th Legislature occupied 16 of the 60 House seats and 8 of the 30 Senate seats. (See Table page 8)

On average since 1980, a greater percentage of women candidates for the Legislature has been elected — 51 per cent to 45 per cent for men.

The women of the 47th Legislature are divided between 16 Republicans and 14 Democrats, while Republican men hold a 40 to 20-seat advantage over Democrat men.

In interviews with Arizona Capitol Times, seven of nine women, either new to the Legislature or returning after breaks in their service, differed on issues along partisan lines, and found common ground on others.

Interviews with Reps.-elect Ann Kirkpatrick and Trish Groe were not obtained when the newspaper went to press Nov. 23.

Kyrsten Sinema

Rep.-elect Kyrsten Sinema, D-15, says affordable health care is a top priority for women and women in the Legislature would benefit from a woman’s caucus.

“Although the issue impacts all Arizonans, women and children are particularly disadvantaged when health care is not affordable, accessible and effective,” said the first-time legislator.

“A women’s caucus is a great idea. Often, laws impact women differently, and this should be considered when crafting and passing legislation. Women face issues that men do not in our society, yet society rarely recognizes these special issues,” Ms. Sinema said.

Ms. Sinema, 28, of Phoenix, is a faculty associate at the ASU School of Social Work and working on a law degree. She said she is pro-choice and mentioned the abortion issue in her response to a question about why more women don’t run for or get elected to the Legislature.

There is a belief among women, Ms. Sinema said, “that the Legislature is not women-friendly as evidenced by repeated attempts to infringe on a woman’s right to make decisions about her own body and, perhaps, even a concern that politics is an old boy’s network.

“The Democratic Party surfaced a number of highly qualified female candidates this year, but many of them live in Republican dominated districts and so were defeated by party-line votes,” she said.

Ms. Sinema said she supports same-sex marriage because “All people should enjoy equal rights.”

Laura Knaperek

Rep.-elect Laura Knaperek, R-17, is returning to the House, where she previously served from 1995 to 2002. She said a lack of time plays a major role in limiting the number of women who run for office.

“Women are in the workplace, on boards and commissions, volunteering in their communities and schools. If they have families, they come first. Time and set priorities can and do conflict with legislative service,” she said. “A firm 100-day session and 65-day budget would alleviate some barriers and allow more women to serve.”

Ms. Knaperek, 49, a political consultant and columnist for the East Valley Tribune, said most women are concerned with the same issues that men are: making sure high-paying jobs are coming to Arizona and education.

When it comes to education, and full-day kindergarten specifically, she said, “I support the offering of a voluntary full-day kindergarten program at each school. However, I do believe the focus of the state should be to increase the wages of teachers.”

A women’s caucus that allowed female legislators to concentrate on legislation of particular importance to women would be a bonus, Ms. Knaperek said, but is not a necessity. She explained that several women attempted to create one a few years ago.

“We met for several weeks until we realized there is just not enough time in a day to accomplish all that is needed during session,” she said.

Ms. Knaperek said she is pro-life and against same-sex marriage.

Rebecca Rios

Sen.-elect Rebecca Rios, D-23, comes to the Senate to fill the seat of her father, Pete Rios, who was termed out and won election to the House, where she served from 1995-2001. Ms. Rios, 37, is married to Rep. John Loredo, D-13, the current House minority leader who did not run for re-election.

“The women of Arizona are as diverse as the areas of concern to them,” said Ms. Rios, who listed affordable health care, quality education and a clean environment as issues of concern for women.

She said her top legislative priorities are issues surrounding health, safety and children’s education.

Ms. Rios of Apache Junction said she favors the idea of creating a women’s caucus. “It would create a conduit for pushing women’s issues, regardless of party affiliation.”

Competing demands of a career and rearing a family, she said, often do not allow women to run and get elected to the Legislature. A behavioral health agency director and mother of two, Ms. Rios said she supports the state’s new full-day kindergarten program.

“It is a necessary investment for the state’s children,” she said.

Ms. Rios said she is pro-choice, supports same-sex civil unions and Governor Napolitano “is an incredibly effective and dynamic governor.”

It remains to be seen how conservatives and moderates will get along, she said, and Democrats in the Republican-controlled Legislature will not be treated as irrelevant.

Pamela Gorman

Rep.-elect Pamela Gorman, R-6, will be beginning her first term as a legislator this session. The freelance writer, Web designer, owner of LP Gorman Consulting and mother of one from Anthem has been involved in her precinct leadership for several years. The 36-year-old said these responsibilities are an example of what women must balance with politics if they run for public office.

“Women, perhaps, recognize the immense sacrifices of public office and are not motivated by the intrinsic value of power to balance these sacrifices,” she said.

Mrs. Gorman said Governor Napolitano “has pushed a spending agenda that is fiscally irresponsible and unnecessarily burdens Arizona taxpayers” in her first two years in office. That flies in the face of Mrs. Gorman’s top priority of establishing a balanced budget without raising taxes.

There are no real issues that could be described as “women’s issues,” Mrs. Gorman said, because women are concerned about a wide variety of issues, as are men. Because of that, she said, she doesn’t think there needs to be a women’s caucus.

Mrs. Gorman said she is opposed to full-day kindergarten, same-sex marriage and abortion, adding of the latter, “I think abortion is the ultimate denial of individual rights and, therefore, should be outlawed by any civil government.”

Martha Garcia

“I look forward to the day when over 50 per cent of women will run and get elected to the Legislature,” said Rep.-elect Martha Garcia, D-13. “Women are natural leaders and a force to be reckoned with.”

Ms. Garcia, who will turn 60 after she begins her first term in January, is the director of a non-profit agency that
deals with affordable housing. In her candidate profile provided for this year’s elections, she said safe neighborhoods have always been a priority of hers and that state employees need more support from the Legislature.

The Phoenix mother and grandmother, who has served as a school board member and precinct committeewoman, listed access to affordable health care as the number one concern for women and education as her top legislative priority.

And she said, “By all means, yes” there should be a women’s caucus in the Legislature.

Like other Democrat women legislators, she says she supports a woman’s right to choose and same-sex marriage.

“That is a personal choice one makes,” she said. “We have no business interfering in the private lives of women or men who choose to enter into a commitment.”

Governor Napolitano, Ms. Garcia said, has accomplished more in two years in office than other governors have in four years. “I give her high marks for her first two years in office.”

Nancy McLain

Rep-elect Nancy McLain, R-3, comes to the Legislature hoping to take care of what she sees as the number one priority for women and men: “getting our fiscal house in order,” she said. Besides balancing the budget without the use of “accounting tricks,” she said she also hopes to secure funding for roads and other infrastructure in her district, especially Mohave County.

“Mohave County is the second fastest growing county in the country, and we cannot keep up with that growth using county resources only,” she said.

Ms. McLain, 59, and the president of PW McLain, Inc., a janitorial service, said women tend to stay out of politics for several reasons, including a perception that they won’t be successful.

“I believe many women still see politics as the ‘good ol’ boys club’ and don’t think they will be successful in breaking into that group,” she said. “Secondly, women are traditionally the behind-the-scenes nurturers, helping to get candidates elected with their volunteer efforts. Many are happy in that role, and don’t want to put themselves in the spotlight.”

Ms. McLain describes herself as pro-life and is opposed to same-sex marriage. “The concerns of some homosexual couples (i.e., inheritance and visitation issues) can be solved by legal means already in existence,” she said.

Ms. McLain said Republicans may hold a sizeable advantage over Democrats in terms of numbers, but that doesn’t mean the opposition party can be simply ignored.

“Republicans do not have such large majorities in either house that we can completely ignore the Dems. They have their constituents who expect certain things from them, and they are correct to push for their concerns,” she said. “As a body, we need to take all viewpoints into consideration. But I believe the last election showed a clear preference for conservative Republican positions, and it is our duty to be certain that this preference is upheld.”

Judy Burges

Fiscal responsibility is the top priority for Rep.-elect Judy Burges, R-4, a first-time legislator from Skull Valley. The state, she said, needs to stop spending money and using “smoke and mirror gimmicks” to close the structural deficit. A reduction in spending is needed, Ms. Burges said.

“One method of reducing government spending is to adopt the Taxpayer Bill of Rights which caps the budget to population growth plus inflation,” she said. “This will help protect our Arizona families from more government intervention in their lives.”

The governor, Ms. Burges said, has not been fiscally responsible.

“Under her watch, and under her strong influence, the state’s budget has grown by 22.3 per cent over the last two years,” she said. “This increase has far exceeded population growth and inflation.”

Ms. Burges, 60, said women are primarily focused on issues that directly affect their families: health, safety and education among them. Family needs also likely play a role in determining how many — or how few — women run for legislative office.

“Days at the legislature are often long and especially demanding for mothers who have small children. In addition, before Clean Elections, many families could not afford the thousands of dollars it takes to run a successful campaign,” she said.

Even though certain issues appeal more often to women, Ms. Burges said there is no point to a women’s caucus that would allow female lawmakers the forum to focus on such issues, because they impact everyone.

“Men in the Legislature have wives and daughters so issues regarding women are of importance to them as well,” she said. “Women would be offended if there was a men’s caucus.” —