4A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2017
Election, Women’s March prompt women of color to seek office
By RUSSELL
CONTRERAS and
DEEPTI HAJELA
Associated Press
two who lives in the Bed-
ford-Stuyvesant
neighbor-
hood of Brooklyn. “So right
then and there I decided to
jump in.”
Lourdes Cruz said she long
thought about running for
office but seeing the first steps
taken by the Trump adminis-
tration solidified her decision.
The 32-year-old social
worker from Yorba Linda,
California, has never held
elected office and plans to run
for city council or the state
assembly in 2018.
“What the actions are now,
it is very scary as a country to
see that one person can have
so much power,” said Cruz, a
naturalized U.S. citizen origi-
nally from Mexico.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.
— As Samia Assed watched
election returns come in with
her children and another Mus-
lim family, she panicked when
it became clear that Donald
Trump would win the presi-
dency. The Palestinian-Amer-
ican woman wondered if
they would have to register
as Muslims, as Trump said
during his campaign. Would
she be barred from wearing
her hijab in public?
“Honestly, I was scared,”
the 51-year-old Albuquerque
resident said. “I didn’t even
want to take my daughter to
school the next day.”
Nonpartisan groups
Assed has turned her
Erin
Loos-Cutraro,
fears into action, joining co-founder of She Should
what advocacy groups say Run, a nonpartisan group
are hundreds, possibly thou- that encourages women to
sands of women of color, seek office, said the group’s
who are exploring making a site usually gets about 100-
run for public office. Across 200 women a month express-
the country, women are gath- ing interest in their programs.
ering signatures, attending Since the election, it’s been
workshops, and signing up for close to 6,000.
Karen Hinks, founder of
fundraising and public speak-
ing classes as they set their WeLead OC, said she’s seen
eyes on school board seats, at least 15 groups spring up
city councils, state offices, in Orange County, California,
since the women’s march was
and even Congress.
Just how many women of put together.
“Every day there’s another
color will actually seek office
is anyone’s guess. Advocacy group that sprouts up, and it
groups say it’s too early to is all women that are doing
determine how many women this,” said Hinks, whose orga-
will formally file papers, but nization trains Democratic
they believe the number could women to run for office and
triple. Some are deciding on work on political campaigns.
It’s not just Democrat-
what position to seek, while
others are waiting for 2018 or ic-leaning women seeking to
expand the diversity of elected
2019, advocates said.
VoteRunLead
director officeholders. The Republican
Erin Vilardi said the group State Leadership Committee’s
has seen a jump in the num- Future Majority Project, an
initiative that
ber of women
seeks diverse
interested in
politics. The
‘The 2016 GOP can-
didates,
is
Duluth, Min-
election
identifying
nesota-based
recruit-
group
typi-
cycle saw and
ing
state-
cally
draws
level
candi-
50 to 100 par-
political
dates
after
ticipants for
webinars like engagement a successful
2016.
“From
Pro-
at every
Republican
tester to Pol-
State Leader-
itician.” But
level of
ship Commit-
since Novem-
spokes-
ber, the webi- government tee
woman Ellie
nars
have
Hockenbury
attracted more
in ways
points to Patri-
than 1,000 par-
we have
cia Rucker, a
ticipants each
time, Vilardi
not seen in first-genera-
tion Ameri-
said.
And
can from Ven-
about half of
years.’
ezuela
who
those signing
up are women
Ellie Hockenbury in November
won a seat in
of color.
Republican state leadership
committee spokeswoman in
the West Vir-
“From our
New Mexico
ginia Senate.
inboxes to our
And Repub-
social media
sites, we can’t keep up with lican Affie Ellis became the
first Native American woman
the fire hose,” Vilardi said.
to win a seat in the Wyoming
Legislature, Hockenbury said.
Jump into politics
“The 2016 election cycle
In interviews with The
Associated Press, some say saw political engagement at
Trump’s win and his past every level of government
comments on minorities in ways we have not seen in
and women sparked them to years,” Hockenbury said.
In addition, some female
jump into politics. Others,
like Monic Behnken, 44, cite political veterans also are
the divisiveness of the presi- taking a shot at history. For
dential campaign or Demo- example, Debra Haaland, the
crat Hillary Clinton’s defeat outgoing chair of the New
among the motivating factors. Mexico Democratic Party, is
Behnken, a criminal jus- mulling a run for a congres-
tice professor at Iowa State sional seat in 2018. If elected,
University, is seeking a seat the enrolled member of the
Laguna Pueblo would become
on the Ames School Board.
“Seeing how this ugliness the first Native American
was filtering into my chil- woman elected to Congress.
Assed said she hasn’t
dren’s lives was probably the
thing that motivated me the decided when she’ll run for
most,” said Behnken, who city council, but in the mean-
is black. “I knew I had to do time, she plans to learn all she
something to step up to make can. As president of the advo-
the world as safe for them as cacy group Albuquerque Cen-
ter For Peace and Justice Coa-
I could.”
Kathleen Daniel, 46, said lition, Assed has sought to
she decided to run for New build alliances with Latino
York’s City Council the day and Native Americans on a
after Trump’s election. Her variety of different issues, she
12-year-old son refused to said.
Behnken said she is start-
wear his coat that day even
though it was cold. He didn’t ing from scratch and will
want to be seen in a hoodie, focus on meeting new people.
“I don’t know if I’ll win
believing Trump would bring
back “stop and frisk,” said or not, but I know this,”
Behnken said. “This is what
Daniel, who is black.
“I couldn’t face my kids,” I’m supposed to be doing at
said Daniel, a mother of this moment.”
Activist Samia Assed
stands in front of a
mural at the Albuquer-
que Center for Peace
and Justice coalition in
Albuquerque, N.M., earlier
this month. Assed, a Pal-
estinian-American, has
now turned her fears over
Donald Trump’s election
into action, joining what
advocacy groups said
are hundreds, possibly
thousands of women of
color, who are exploring
making a run for public
office.
AP Photo
Russell Contreras
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