10A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL MARCH 7, 2018
Leaders
Continued from A1
city had only one application. A man.
According to Dr. Barbara Spencer, chair for the
“He’s a voice the council doesn’t have either Oregon Commission for Women, several factors
though. He’s has a young family. There’s only contribute to the lack of women in these roles in-
seven seats and a lot of voices,” Cottage Grove cluding time and finances.
City Manager Richard Meyers said.
“There is a confidence gap with women in run-
It’s a nationwide trend with women occupying ning the rigors of campaigning,” she said. “Ask-
fewer elected positions than men from Congress ing for money, it’s something women often do not
to state houses to governorships, mayor offices like to do. Until they’re pushed and asked that
and city councils. According to Represent Wom- they should run, they don’t do it.”
en—a group dedicated to advancing institution-
Women, Spencer said, often don’t have access
al reforms that enable women to run for public to cash in the same way men do and local govern-
office— in 2017, women made up 20 percent of mental positions don’t offer competitive salaries.
mayors in cities with populations over 30,000, 24
Cottage Grove city councilor is a volunteer po-
percent of state offices, 19 percent of the House sition with a relatively large time commitment.
and 22 percent of the Senate. But in Cottage Councilors attend state-wide meetings such as
Grove, the absence of women in leadership roles League of Cities conferences and serve on sub-
extends beyond elected positions. Currently, the committees in addition to the two regular sched-
mayor and city council are comprised entirely uled councilors meetings a month.
of men but so are the positions of police and fire
As superintendent, Parent routinely worked 70-
chief, city manager, chamber of commerce direc- hour weeks partly to keep up with the demands of
tor, school board president, acting superintendent the position and partly, she said, to make sure she
and nearly every department head in the city other was prepared in ways she felt her male colleagues
than finance which is headed by Roberta Likens. did not have to be.
According to Meyers, the city has just hired two
“Traditionally in school districts males will
women; one in the planning department and one handle budgets, athletics, transportation and fa-
water treatment plant, two women sit on the plan- cilities. I felt like I had to know more than a man
ning commission and the current lack of women would about these things because school boards
may just be a fad.
in general, I found when studying this, will chal-
“It’s hard when you have people who have lenge a female superintendent in these areas,”
been here for 40 years and they haven’t retired she said. “I felt I had to prove myself. I had to be
but when they start leaving, we can hire people better and work harder to be seen as a competent
on and the city staff is becoming more diverse,” person in my position.”
he said.
Parent now teaches budget intricacies at the
In 1993, the city council had two women on the university level but when she started in admin-
board and a women in the mayor’s chair. But the istration in South Lane as athletic director and
number of women in leadership positions in the vice principal at Cottage Grove High School, she
city has always fallen short of the number of men faced challenges.
and has traditionally been concentrated in the ed-
“My first statewide meeting for athletics, I
ucation and non-profit fields.
thought I was in the wrong room,” she said, not-
“We have amazing women leaders in t his com- ing that the space was full of men. “I attributed it
munity,” Meyers said. “Why they’re not volun- to it being the field of athletics. There was a sense
teering on the city council, I don’t know. I know that you had to be really good to be in that posi-
they’re phenomenal in the positions they’re in tion as a woman.”
now and would hate to rob one for the other,” he
Prior to her promotion to superintendent, Parent
said. “We were one of the first cities in the state worked under the last female superintendent who
with a woman mayor so yeah, I don’t know why.” left the district in the mid-90s who had stayed in
Neither does Dr. Krista Parent. “Yeah, I wonder the position for just over a year. In the 33 years
what it is. Why?” Parent asked
in regards to why women don’t
seem to rise to leadership posi-
tions within the city. Just prior With your subscription you receive access to the mobile
to Slay’s resignation, the South friendly Cottage Grove Sentinel e-Edition.
Lane School Board announced
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tendent—a title she had held for
nearly two decades, well beyond
the average district stay for a su-
perintendent regardless of gen-
der.
Kyle Tucker was named as the
acting superintendent through
June 30 of this year.
In researching her disserta-
tion, Parent focused on the lim-
ited number of female superin-
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“75 percent of the teaching
workforce, K-12, are women. So,
C ottage G rove
why the disproportionate number
of female superintendents? You
would think that those teaching
workforce would serve as a pipe-
line to that position,” she said.
“There’s got to be something
there on why women aren’t run-
ning or occupying those posi-
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Parent had worked in the district, Cottage Grove
High School has had one female principal. How-
ever, all five of the cities elementary schools are
headed by women principals.
“I think that’s where you see it,” Slay said of
women leaders in local schools. “I didn’t realize,
until you brought it up, that there weren’t more
women leaders in Cottage Grove,” she said. “I
know a lot of volunteers that have spearheaded
projects, who are women. Projects are being com-
pleted because of women.”
While the executive director of the Cottage
Grove Chamber of Commerce is a man, the pres-
ident of the board is female. A woman also heads
the city’s only public transportation service, a
non-profit organization dubbed South Lane
Wheels.
So, why are women volunteering for organiza-
tions but not to serve in governmental positions?
Aside from the financial commitment, it may
boil down to representation.
“If you don’t see women up there, you often
don’t think of running yourself so it perpetuates
itself,” Spencer said. “It’s hard to develop the idea
of ‘I want to be a mayor’ on your own.”
Statewide organizations such as Emerge Ore-
gon and Vote Run Lead help women navigate the
obstacles between them and undertaking a cam-
paign but rural areas may have a slower start than
their metro counterparts in name recognition for
these groups or more localized organizations with
the same goal.
Cottage Grove does not have a regular women’s
group within city limits.
“That probably says something,” Spencer said
adding that the lack of women in management
positions was also not surprising. “Men pick
the people they feel more comfortable with and
unless it is very much involved in diversity and
equity this is what tends to keep happening with
organizations and cities,” she said.
According to Meyers, the city is eager to in-
clude women in the conversations, a sentiment
shared by Slay who said her voice was always
welcome.
“It’s not only the right thing to say, it’s actual-
ly what’s happening, it’s actually true,” he said,
noting that the city has had 10 women on the city
council dating back to 1996.
“I think it sends a bad message to young wom-
en,” Parent said, reflecting on her experience as
an educator in a district situated in a city with-
out women in government. “A city’s leadership
should mirror the community. This tells young
women, you can’t be leaders.”
But if the lack of women leaders is supposed
to send a message of exclusion to young women,
Chelsea Armstrong hasn’t received it.
She serves on the Cottage Grove Youth Adviso-
ry Council, a program aimed at engaging young
people in the legislative process. Members attend
city council meetings, vote with the council and
host their own meetings where they map out their
approach to issues in Cottage Grove and the state
as a whole.
When she heard of Slay’s resignation, the
18-year-old contemplated throwing her hat in the
ring.
“The only reason I didn’t,” she said, “is because
I’m leaving for college in the fall.”
She’ll be studying political science with the
hopes of finding a position in local or state gov-
ernment in the future but she’ll also be leaving
Cottage Grove, a city whose culture, she said,
could contribute to the lack of women on the city
council and local leadership positions and a city
that may not hold opportunity for her.
“I feel like one reason there’s a lack of women
leaders in Cottage Grove is that Cottage Grove
is old fashioned in the way it does things. In the
past, men have taken on that leadership role and
so getting women to take charge is pushing both
sides. It’s getting women to recognize that they
can take those roles and run and it’s asking men to
recognize that too,” she said. “Not seeing women
leadership in the city, it’s a little like, ‘What’s ac-
tually here for me if I stay?’”
Worship
Directory
DRAIN:
HOPE U.M.C.
131 W “A” St. Drain, OR
541-315-1617
Pastor: Lura Kidner-Miesen
Fellowship & Song: 11:30am
Potluck Lunch: 12:00pm
Worship: 12:30pm
Cottage Grove Faith Center
33761 Row River Rd.
541-942-4851
Lead Pastor: Kevin Pruett
www.cg4.tv
Full Childrenʼs Ministry available
Service: 10:00am
Delight Valley
Church of Christ
33087 Saginaw Rd. East
541-942-7711
Pastor: Bob Friend
Two Services:
9am - Classic in the Chapel
10:30am - Contemporary in the
Auditorium
COTTAGE GROVE:
6th & Gibbs Church of Christ
195 N. 6th St. • 541-942-3822
Pastor: Aaron Earlywine
Youth & Families Pastor:
Seth Bailey
Service times: 9am & 10:30am
Sunday School: 9am for all ages
Christian Education
Nursery for pre-k - 3rd Grade
www.6thandgibbs.com
First Presbyterian Church
3rd and Adams St
541-942-4479
Pastor: Karen Hill
Worship: 10:00am
Sunday School: 10:00am
www.cgpresbynews.com
Calvary Baptist Church
77873 S 6th St • 541-942-4290
Pastor: Riley Hendricks
Sunday School: 9:45am
Worship: 11:00am
The Journey: Sunday 5:00pm
Praying Thru Life: Wednesday
6:00pm
Calvary Chapel Cottage Grove
1447 Hwy 99 (Village Plaza)
541-942-6842
Pastor: Jeff Smith
Two Services on Sun:
9am & 10:45am
Youth Group Bible Study
Child Care 10:45am Service Only
www.cgcalvary.org
Center for Spiritual Living
Cottage Grove
700 Gibbs Ave.
(Community Center)
Rev. Bobby Lee
Meets Sunday 3:00 p.m.
cslcottagegrove@gmail.com
Church of Christ
420 Monroe St • 541-942-8565
Sunday Service: 10:30am
Cottage Grove Bible Church
1200 East Quincy Avenue
541-942-4771
Pastor:Bob Singer
Worship 11am
Sunday School:9:45am
AWANA age 3-8th Grade,
Wednesdays Sept-May, 6:30pm
www.cgbible.org
Hope In The Grove
700 E. Gibbs • 401-855-5668
Pastor: Wayne Husk
Sunday services:
Worship: 9am
Coffee Fellowship: 10:15am
Bible Study: 10:30am
Hope Fellowship
United Pentecostal Church
100 S. Gateway Blvd.
541-942-2061
Pastor: Dave Bragg
Worship: 11:00am Sunday
Bible Study: 7:00pm Wednesday
www.hopefellowshipupc.com
“FINDING HOPE IN YOUR LIFE”
Living Faith Assembly
467 S. 10th St. • 541-942-2612
Pastor Rulon Combs
Worship & Childrenʼs
Church 10:00 am
Youth 180 Mondays 5:30-8pm
Non-Denominational
Church of Christ
1041 Pennoyer Ave
541-942-8928
Preacher: Tony Martin
Sunday Bible Study:10:00am
Sunday Worship:10:50am & 5:30pm
www.pennoyeravecoc.com
Old Time Gospel Fellowship
103 S. 5th St. • 541-942-4999
Pastor: Jim Edwards
Sunday Service: 10:00am
Join in Traditional Christian Worship
Our Lady of Perpetual Help
and St. Philip Benizi
Catholic Churches
1025 N. 19th St.
541-942-3420
Father: Joseph Hung Nguyen
Holy Mass:
Tue-Thu: 8:30am; Sat:5:30pm
Sun: 10:30am
Confession: After daily mass,
Sat. 4-5pm or by appointment
St. Philip Benizi, Creswell
552 Holbrock Lane
541-895-8686, Sunday: 8:30am
St. Andrews Episcopal Church
1301 W. Main • 541-767-9050
Rev. Lawrence Crumb
“Church with the fl ags.”
Worship: Sunday 10:30am
All Welcome
Seventh-day Adventist Church
820 South 10th Street
541-942-5213
Pastor: Kevin Miller
Bible Study: Saturday, 9:15 am
Worship Service: Saturday, 10:40
Mid-week Service: Wednesday, 1:00
Trinity Lutheran Church
6th & Quincy • 541-942-2373
Pastor: James L. Markus
Sunday School & Adult Education
9:15am
Sunday Worship 10:30 am
Comm. Kitchen Free Meal Tue & Thur
5:00pm TLC Groups
tlccg.com
United Methodist Church
334 Washington • 541-942-3033
Pastor:Lura Kidner-Miesen
Worship: 10:30am
Comm. Dinner (Adults $5,
Kids Free)
1st & 3rd Monday 5-6:00pm
umcgrove.org
“VICTORY” Country Church
913 S. 6th Street • 541-942-5913
Pastor: Barbara Dockery
Worship Service: 10:00am
Message: “WE BELIEVE IN
MIRACLES”
Worship With Us!
Our Worship Directory is a weekly feature
in the newspaper. If your congregation
would like to be a part of this directory,
please contact the
Cottage Grove Sentinel
@ 541-942-3325