Q-C women encouraged to become more politically active
Women make up the majority of registered voters in Iowa and Illinois. But women hold only about 25 percent of the seats in either state legislature.
Former Iowa state Sen. Maggie Tinsman of Bettendorf pointed out this and other gender imbalances in the world of politics as she called for more women to “step up, step forward and take a risk.”
Tinsman, along with Loretta Durbin, president of the Illinois Women’s Institute for Leadership and wife of U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, and Colleen Callahan, Democrat candidate for Illinois’ 18th Congressional District, urged 130 members of The Women’s Connection to become more politically active at a luncheon and panel discussion on Tuesday at Short Hills Country Club in East Moline.
“My interest in policy supercedes my interest in politics,” said Durbin, who remained in Springfield working in state government when her husband was sent to Washington, D.C. She founded the Illinois Women’s Institute for Leadership 10 years ago as a training academy for women seeking public office.
“We need more women in public office,” she said. “They like to collaborate. They like to get stuff done. They’re less ego-driven; they’re more people-driven.”
Callahan faces a tough race against state Rep. Aaron Schock for a congressional seat held by Republicans since 1917. She was recruited as the Democrat candidate when former Bradley University basketball coach Dick Versace dropped out after the primary. She has never held public office but said her agricultural roots and her 30-year broadcast career prepared her “to serve at the next level.”
“It’s humbling; it’s frightening,” she said of running for Congress. “But above all, if you do it for the right reasons, it’s the right thing to do.”
The panelists acknowledged that U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign opened doors for women running for office at all levels. Tinsman also brought up women’s history of not supporting female candidates.
“We need to be broader-minded ... and support women because they are bright, forthright people, even if we disagree with them on one little issue,” Tinsman said.
Melissa Coulter can be contacted at (563) 383-2243 or mcoulter@qctimes.com.
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