Female Majority to Control New Hampshire Senate

By Jane Costello, Women's eNews. Posted December 2, 2008.

Sytek retired from the Legislature in 2000 after serving 23 years. When she was first elected in 1977, there were women already chairing committees who wielded power and authority while other, more left-leaning legislatures such as that of neighboring Massachusetts remained dominated by men. "In New Hampshire, competence rises to the top," she says. "It's a meritocracy; if you have a good idea, you don't have to wait your turn."

In New Hampshire, legislators are often retirees, stay-at-home mothers, small business owners and people with part-time, flexible hours that allow them to serve. Not surprisingly, this has led to greater participation by women. But changes in the economy and the work force during the past decade have also brought in a new breed.

"The new women running for office aren't doing this as volunteer work in the traditional sense," she says. "We're seeing a lot of college faculty, women with their own law practices and others who are bringing their professional expertise to the job."

'Women's Issues' Not Dominant

Few of the women who were elected this year ran on platforms that were heavy in women-friendly planks such as improved education funding, health care subsidies or equal pay legislation.

"No one wants to be the 'Woman Legislator,'" says Debbie Walsh, director for the Center for American Women in Politics at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. "But no matter what their politics, they will be looking through these issues with the lens of being a woman. Just having them in the room brings sensitivity and life experience to the issues. "

"Having a female majority in a senate may result in more sensitivity to women's issues, such as work opportunity or discrimination," says Sally Davis, director of legislative efforts for the New Hampshire League of Women Voters, based in Concord. "But realistic attempts to balance the budget and prioritize probably don't depend on gender. Losing Liz Hager hurts, but losing Jay Phinizy does, too."

Hager, a moderate, pro-choice Republican, was defeated in her House primary re-election bid by a more conservative candidate. Phinizy, a liberal Democrat, lost his House seat in the general election to a Republican.

Until November, women comprised one-third of the state Senate in neighboring Vermont, making it the current leader. It will lose that title to New Hampshire in January, although Vermont will continue to outrank New Hampshire -- just barely -- in terms of the overall percentage of women serving in the Legislature: Vermont will have 37.8 percent while New Hampshire's figure will stand at 37.7 percent. The Colorado Legislature will remain 38 percent female, the highest in the country, but it does not have a female majority in either the House or the Senate.

Other states with a high portion of female legislators are Arizona, Minnesota, Hawaii, Maryland, Oregon and Maine.

Walsh attributes that to states' populist -- as opposed to liberal -- heritage, where citizen legislatures encouraged women to participate in elective office.

At the other end of the spectrum, there are states, mostly in the South, that lag behind.

After the defeat earlier this month of five female candidates for the state Legislature, South Carolina will have no female representatives when its state Senate convenes in January. It will be the first time since 1979 that its state Senate has had no women in office.

 Copyright 2008 Women's eNews. All Rights Reserved.

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Jane Costello is a freelance writer who lives and votes in New Hampshire.

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