With the departure of city Councilor Ellen Zoppo from the mayoral race and the looming retirement of longtime city Treasurer Patti Ewen, there's not a single woman left in the running for one of the city's top jobs.
Both mayoral candidates are white men.
All 13 City Council candidates are white men.
Both city treasurer hopefuls are white men.
Now I have nothing against white guys -- I am one, after all -- but it is a little odd that there are 17 candidates for the top elected positions at City Hall and every single one of them is a white man. Offhand, I'm not sure who's the youngest, but the average age of all of them must top 50.
It's not that Bristol won't elect anyone other than white men. Voters have elected two black men to the council in the past decade - Chet Reed and Ken Scott -- and Ewen's been a constant presence for years.
Before Zoppo captured a council seat in 2001 -- by snatching it from Reed -- there hadn't been a woman on the council since 1993. I'm not sure there's ever been more than one at a time, but I'm sure someone will know for sure.
In any case, a lot of guys have come and gone, with just Zoppo holding a spot on the council for the fairer sex. And come November, it'll be all guys all the time for the next couple of years.
Now I'm not saying that half the positions should be held by women or that we ought to be keeping statistical counts on such things. But it is peculiar that neither party thought it was important to have any balance at all among the sexes on the tickets they're putting before the voters (recognizing, of course, that the Democratic Town Committee did endorse Zoppo for mayor).
What's going on in Bristol that this happens year after year? Are Bristol's women shunned? Tell me. I'm curious why this continues.
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Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
16 comments:
What about the elected school board? Lots of women there.
I don't think this has anything to do with gender. Woman are not shunned, its the attitude and the way she treats people that matter.
I do think women are not given enough credit for who they are and what they do.
Can you imagine how difficult it is to be the only women in a roomful of headstrong guys with raging testosterone?
I can't speak for gender or race but youth is definetly not included in local politics. Unless, that young person comes from a well connected family. Unfortunetly then political office becomes inherited. More and more it seems as if the town leaders are from a long ago time and have a vision of a long ago community. Today's youth, especially those whose families aren't well connected, are more likely to go elsewhere to make their life than Bristol.
As a professional woman, I don't think that most women wouldn't consider taking on something that is so time consuming. We work, have children and homes to manage. Ellen was very lucky that she had 2 flexible part time positions and her parents and husband to help her constantly.
I personally would not be comfortable leaving my children and home as often as a City Council position requires, and maintain a full time job.
It's not that women aren't interested or are being discriminated against - it's that we are too busy.
If there are black or hispanic or any other community members interested they should come forward. We shouldn't have to go searching for interested people.
This is why the council needs tobe expanded to nine members and the work load spread out.
How can you ask a mother and wife who works full time, drives the kids to soccor practice or antoher sports venue, is active in church etc.
to give up more time to not only serve on the city council, but to run for it also.
In addition, what woman would want to subject her family to the nasty life of campaigning that has become a way of life here in Bristol.
In a perfect world we wouldn't have to go searching for people of color, but we don't live in a perfect world. If we don't go looking for them, they will take that to mean we don't want to find them.
Since the one woman was an obnoxiuous hack, you now have no women there.
Bristol is 90% white as well. So what do you want, a group being over-representated?
"Raging testosterone"- I'm not being sarcastic.
Some of these headstrong guys can't control their emotions when they get a concept or feel thwarted.
Several years ago, I went to a finance board meeting and saw one city councilor almost come to blows over an issue. Another interceded and dragged the upset one out of the room. Nasty words were flying too.
Just recently I read of a DTC meeting where another guy got upset and started throwing punches at his advisary. An old lady got a black eye because she happened to be the way!
Now, do women behave like this in public when they don't get their way? I think not.
Women can control themselves.
Some of these men are just too emotional. It's a physical deficit due to their gender. God just made them that way.
The testosterone starts to rise under stress; their brains get dysfunctional; they go wacko; and soon BAM or BAM-BAM!
Some nice lady ends up on the floor.
What reasonable rational lady would "volunteer" to be around this behavior?
I tell you, men are not fit to be involved in politics!
They are too emotional because they feel inferior about themselves having to carry their sex organs outside their bodies.
Because they are too emotional, they really can't think and solve complex problems. Has government under male control ever really solved anything?
Bad enough women have to deal with the irrational "road ragers" who are intent on killing us with their cars! Spare us from being in a roomful of babbling idiots with rising testosterone levels.
Some of these guys need a constant supply "gentleman" pills to calm themselves down.
Women in Bristol are just biding their time, and waiting till the time is right. Many social revolutions have failed because of impetuosity. Timing is everything.
Today, more women are entering colleges and the professions.
We've always had the edge on brains, now were getting the paper to back up our natural superiority.
Paper blunts brut force.
Because of modern biotechnology, advances in machines, computers, etc.,society only truly needs the male gender for the sperm cells to reproduce our species. However,there is hope, further advances cell technology (parthenogenisis) can change all that, and we won't need males at all!
The human race will be saved from extinction. The planet will be saved by its women. There will be no more war.
Honestly, Bristol women don't want to push our advantage, not just yet.
We need to overcome the male conspiracy that has kept us in the kitchen far too long.
When we can figure out an easy way to grasp and open those difficult spaghetti sauce jars, the male sex is DOOMED on the planet. We won't be calling for help to open the darn jars anymore. Brut force shall not rule from that day forward.
Then, you shall see the women rising. Not just in Bristol, but the whole darn world.
There shall not be one lone women on the Bristol City Council putting up with all that macho crap. The Council shall be ALL women, and there will be world peace.
Beware, beware, the clock is ticking. The women are retreating into their basements, and are tinkering away with models of a new fangled jar openers. The men are completely unaware that this is happening under their very noses.
:)
Steve Collins ... you are probably the greatest contributor to the fact that this race is now a "bastion of white guys".
You know, I hadn't realized that I got to vote on who the candidates from each party would be. I should have chosen better!
Thank you for pointing out the problem, Steve. I had not thought about it before now. It is VERY interesting.
"A bastion of white guys" is probably a little too narrow a definition. "A bastion of ethnically diverse caucasions" is more accurate. City politics and the make up of the administration is evolving. One hundred years ago the only way you were a candidate for mayor or city council was if you lived on Federal Hill, attended the Congregational church and your named didn't end in a vowel. If any of the founding fathers of Bristol were to come back today and see a council made up of Italian, Polish, Irish, Jewish etc. decedents they would faint dead away. So too will the current make up of city hall and Bristol politics evolve and change. We've had African American and women council members and we will again along with Latino, Asian and more. We can argue about the "good ole boys" (and I would never argue that they don't exist) but it's a wasted debate. This current group will fade away and a new set of "good ole boys" completely diverse from this current bunch will take their place. It's called politics. But just like everything else each generation brings more change. The danger is lack of involvement combined with a failure to focus on intelligent debate and substituting it with shrill arguments, personal attacks and noise. Figuring out whether or not people think that the administraion is "a bastion of white guys" is a waste of time. Focusing on the issues, listening to what people have to say, moving away from blind party loyalty and getting involved will bring change. Maybe slow, but it will occur. The alternative is to just let time do its thing.
discusted dem., Very well put! Nice too see people who accually make sense and not just complain. We all should look at the issues and stop voting across the board for our party.
"Now, do women behave like this in public when they don't get their way? I think not.
Women can control themselves."
Unfortunately this simply is not true. Bad behavior is not limited to one's sex, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, etc., it is an equal opportunity reflection of one's character.
White guys rule, because frankly they are superior.
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