These Connecticut Women Want A Seat In The House
Women are running for office in record numbers across the country and in Connecticut, the trend is no different.
Driven by the state’s fiscal challenges, Donald Trump’s election and the surge of other women making their bids, Connecticut women who are business owners, local leaders, former educators and volunteers are seeking to win some of the 151 seats in the House of Representatives.
Most of the women have never run for state office and only a few have experience in municipal politics but all shared similar beliefs of bringing change, women’s perspectives, youthful voices and life experiences to the legislature.
Women currently hold 51 of 187 seats in the state House and Senate, or about 27.3 percent.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, about 1,843 women currently serve in the 50 state legislatures. Women make up 25.4 percent of all state legislators nationwide.
As of the end of April, women were running in 278 of 435 congressional districts. The figure is more than double the number of women who ran in 2000 and the highest number in at least 18 years, according to Bloomberg and the Center for Responsive Politics.
Meet a sampling of the women who are running for a seat in Connecticut’s House of Representatives:
Jennifer Fiereck, 40, has never held elected office and says that will help her win the 13th House District.
Theresa Govert, a 27-year-old progressive Democrat and an award-winning Peace Corps volunteer running for the 34th House District, says the legislature needs diverse leadership, including the voices of Connecticut’s young women.
Leslee Hill, 53, had long thought about running for state office. When Republican Rep. Timothy LeGeyt of the 17th House District decided to retire this year, Hill realized “it was the right time.”
Kara Rochelle, 35, founded the Naugatuck Valley Young Democrats and is currently the president of the group and the executive vice president of Connecticut Young Democrats, which manages college chapters across the state.
Molly Spino, 35, has lived in Torrington her entire life and so have her husband, her parents and her grandparents.
While walking in Connecticut’s Women’s March in January, Kathleen Tracy, 66, saw Emerge Connecticut’s booth and learned the group was looking to train capable Democratic women to run for office.
Having knocked on about 1,600 doors in the 62nd House District, Amanda Webster, a Granby Democrat, has learned many things from possible soon-to-be constituents.
http://www.courant.com/politics/hc-pol-10-women-running-2018-story.html
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