5/7/2008 by Beth Bily
TOWER— The scene here wasn’t what one would have expected from their male counterparts. These women often greeted each other with hugs rather than handshakes and the occasional baby was sleeping in a carrier near the table where mom was seated, talking politics.
While the lack of power suits might at first seemed unconventional, it was a simple testament to the whole purpose of the April 11-13 conference at Fortune Bay Casino Resort. The 168 women at Iron Range Go Run! — a leadership training session for women interested in seeking political office — weren’t trying to decode the male political playbook. Instead, they seek to reinvent the game itself.
About one-third of them are women of color, with Native Americans comprising the single largest block.
“We wanted women to understand that they don’t have to change who they are to be in politics,” said organizer Kim Stokes of Britt, an American Bank executive with her own political credentials. Her baptism came as a field office staffer for U.S. Rep. James Oberstar, D-MN, back in the 1980s. She also was Tony Bouza’s running mate in his failed 1994 campaign for Minnesota governor.
Paraphrasing the words of Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, Stokes noted that one woman in politics changes the woman, but numerous women seeking office have the power to change politics.
Go Run! has been to Minnesota four times before. It is a political leadership training component of the White House Project, a 501(c)3 nonprofit with this mission: “to advance women’s leadership in all communities and sectors—up to the U.S. presidency—by filling the leadership pipeline with a richly diverse, critical mass of women.”
The women organizers of the project said the need is great, particularly in rural areas where men still dominate the political landscape. According to the Minnesota Women’s Foundation, women have made strides statewide in the quest for political office; about 34 percent of the Minnesota Legislature is female. But women have not fared as well at the local level, with only 11.4 percent representation on county boards. Forty-five of the state’s 87 counties have no female commissioners.
“Rural areas have a way of isolating strong women,” said Lorrie Janatopoulos, planning director at the Arrowhead Economic Opportunity Agency and Eveleth area political activist.
Removing some of that isolation by creating a political/leadership network across the region was a key goal and outcome of the training.
Maintaining that network also will be an important focus of the work to come. Organizers estimate the initiative likely is a three-year project with follow-up training sessions and networking opportunities.
Janatopoulos, Stokes and Liz Kuoppala, an Eveleth city councilor, all were members of a primary steering committee that organized and brought the event to the Iron Range. The trio and other key organizers have the long-term goal of bringing the male/female balance of power in political office to 50/50.
Women from across the region responded to the Go Run! training opportunity. With nothing more than word-of-mouth for advertising, the available space filled up — aided by a who’s who list of speakers and panelists that included polar explorer, Ann Bancroft, White House Project founder Marie Wilson, and former state senator Becky Lourey. In total the participants came from 58 cities and townships, and seven reservations.
Erin Vilardi, national program director for the White House Project, said the participants brought a diverse collective portfolio. The women ranged in age from late teens to 70 and included women from several employment sectors. Again, one-third were minorities, primarily Native American.
“We received several comments about how inclusive the training was,” said Vilardi. “We set pretty high goals for ourselves on diversity.”
White House Project officials said their program has a similar success rate as other candidate training programs — about 10 percent of participants seek political office after the training and roughly half win. Vilardi said the White House Project in Minnesota has provided training for women who were elected to city council, school board, and even the state senate.
The nonpartisan leadership training included seminars on articulating issues, dealing with the media and addressing the fears that inhibit women from seeking political office. But, the theme weaved throughout the weekend-long leadership training was simply to do what it takes to get more women to the decision-making table. The Iron Range Go Run! training, in fact, was specifically modified to reach emerging leaders from any sector in the Arrowhead Region.
“We’ve talked a lot about political leadership. One of our goals was not just political leadership, but leadership in all sectors,” said Stokes. “I think the skills that were taught will spill over into business and other areas.”
For more info about the White House Project and its Go Run program go to www.thewhitehouseproject.org.
