The other day, I was chatting via IM with a friend of mine in Boston, MA. He was watching some of the health care debate in Congress, and mentioned that a woman representative from Texas was speaking, so I asked him if it was Sheila Jackson-Lee. He was surprised that I was right, and I told him that there weren't really many to choose from, so my odds of getting the right rep was pretty high. It prompted me to look up exactly how many women represent Texas at the Federal level.
I was disheartened to learn that there were only four.
There are remedies for this kind of thing. One of the best ones is TRAINING! Organizations like Annie's List, Emily's List, and Women's Campaign Forum devote themselves specifically to getting women ready to run for office (WCF is nonpartisan, the other two are Democratic). Democracy for America also offers training for Democrats, but doesn't focus on women entirely. There are at least two good training opportunities coming up in Texas. So, follow me for more specifics about the training offered by these groups.
Annie's list is hosting Candidate 101 in Houston, TX May 21st. I've been through an Annie's list training, and loved it. They have one of the best breakdowns of candidate fundraising I've ever seen, and are wonderfully supportive. The training is FREE, but requires an RSVP so they can plan accordingly. It's all day, and it's worth every minute.
Annie's List has other opportunities coming up, so if you can't make the Houston one, there will be more. I can't recommend their work enough.
In June, Democracy for America hosts a Campaign Academy in Fort Worth, TX. This is another training that I attended years ago, and got a great deal of value from. So much so, that I'm going to the Fort Worth one as a refresher. Since I last attended, social media burst onto the scene and has changed the landscape. I want to see how they cover this ground, since it wasn't really on the radar in 2007, for me. This training does have a price attached to it, but they also offer hardship assistance and student discounts. I hope to see a lot of folks there.
I've been sitting on the sidelines for a while because of a job that required nonpartisanship. Now that I am out from under this prohibition, I'm ready to hit the ground running and start working towards the 2012 election cycle. After watching the shenanigans in the Texas Legislature, I know that I have to do more than just bear witness to what the Republican Party is doing to the State of Texas. I have to do something to make it better.
The onus is on us to become the leaders we seek.
Join me.
