Women
in State & Federal Government
2001 Kansas
Senate:11R - 3D = 14 of 40 (35%)
2001 Kansas House: 23R
- 19D = 42 of 124 (34%)
The Center for
the American Women and Politics ranked Kansas fifth in the nation in the percentage
of women legislators. (1999) (Source: http://www2.southwind.net/~educate/da28.html)
2001
U.S. Senate:10D - 3R= 13 of 100
2001
U.S. House:42D - 18R = 60 of 435 (14%)
As of January 2001, 31 women nationwide have served as senators.
Rebecca
Latimer Felton (Georgia) was the first woman
to serve in the U.S. Senate, appointed after a long career in politics and
journalism to fill a vacancy 11/21-23/1922).
Harrie
Caraway (Arkansas) was the first
woman elected to the U.S. Senate after first being appointed to fill her husband’s
seat (1932-1945). (Source: http://www.senate.gov/learning/learn_faq.html
(Frequently asked Questions and http://www.senate.gov/learning/stat_14.html)
From Kansas
(2 U.S. Senators)
(3 U.S. Representatives) (2001: No Kansas women in Congress)
Sheila Frahm, Colby,
was appointed to fill Bob Dole’s U.S. Senate seat when he resigned. She
served June 1996 to November 1996. Frahm had served six years
in the State Senate and was elected Lieutenant Governor in 1994.
Nancy Kassebaum, Wichita, was the first female
from any state to be first elected in her own right to a full term in the
U.S. Senate (Source:
http://www.lasr.net/leisure/kansas/specialty/people), and was
the first woman to head a major U.S. Senate committee. At the time of her
election, she was the only woman in the Senate (1979‑1997). Kassebaum
and Meyers resigned from Congress in 1997 and were replaced by men.
Jan
Meyers, Overland
Park, was elected to the U.S. House
of Representatives (1985‑1997), chaired the Committee on Small Business
during her last term. She served in the Kansas Senate (1972‑1984).
Martha
Elizabeth Keys, Hutchinson,
was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives (1975‑1979).
Kathryn O'Laughlin, Hays,
was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives (1932). Single, Catholic,
and Democrat in a primarily Republican district, she was the first Kansas
woman to serve in Congress.
Carla Stovall, Topeka,
two-term Kansas Attorney General (1995-present).
Kathleen
Sebelius, Topeka,
the first Democrat elected Kansas Insurance Commissioner (1994-present). Kansas
State Representative (1986-1993). Co‑founded the Kansas Public Policy
Institute.
Joan
Finney, first
female governor of Kansas (1990-1995). Rebuffed by Republican leaders for
U.S. House seat, she came back later as a Democrat to win election for State
Treasurer, then Governor.
Georgia Neese Gray
of Richland was the first
female Treasurer of the United States (1949).
City
Government
Susanna Madora
Salter, Argonia,
was elected the first woman mayor in the United States (1887) just weeks after
women won the right to vote in Kansas. An ardent prohibitionist, she was nominated
by townsmen as a joke!
Kansas
Women in History
Notable
women in history became so because, in their time, they did not fit the societal
image of a woman. They were the rebels. Kansas women were at the forefront
of : the suffrage movement, the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU),
numerous literary clubs, Women’s Clubs, and Granges. They advocated for personal
identity (clothes, property, name, marriage rights), equal pay, voting rights,
the right to work in the professions of their choice, for birth control, public
education for all children, acceptable living conditions, better health, nutrition,
mental care and social opportunities, and against slavery and alcohol.
Modern
organizations continuing in the early traditions include: Family & Community
Education (FCE); Business & Professional Women (BPW), American Association
of University Women (AAUW), League of Women’s Voters, women chambers of commerce,
various women’s political party clubs, local Women’s Clubs and church women’s
groups of many denominations and faiths. Take a look below at some of the
notable women of the past in Kansas politics
|
Name
|
B/D
|
Activity
|
Family
|
Focus/Achievement
|
Life
Influences
|
|
McFarland, Kay
|
1935-
|
Lawyer
Topeka
|
|
First female Supreme Court Justice in Kansas (1977),
Chief Justice (1995), first female elected district judge (1973). Chief
Justice of KS Supreme Court (1995-present). Interested in wildlife conservation.
|
Graduated magna cum laude, & law degree Washburn
U., As judge of probate & juvenile courts reduced serious offenses
50%+ in 2 years.
|
|
Cline, Nellie
|
1904-
|
Larned
|
|
First female lawyer to appear before the U.S. Supreme
Court (1918).
|
|
|
Salter, Susanna
|
1872-1961
|
Reformer
Argonia
|
Married Children
|
First woman mayor in the United States. No further
political office. Prohibitionist. Nominated by townsmen as a joke!
|
Daughter of town’s first mayor; father-in-law was former
Kansas Lieutenant Governor.
|
|
Diggs, Annie LaPorte
|
|
Activist
Topeka
|
|
Primary organizer of Kansas Library Association (KLA)
(1900) and State Librarian. Major Populist leader & suffragette
|
At the time of her appointment, was the highest ranking
female state official in Kansas history.
|
|
Lease, Mary Elizabeth
|
1853-1933
|
Activist
Wichita
|
Married
|
Active and well-known speaker in the Populist political
movement. Admitted to Kansas bar 1885.
|
Bored with domestic life, studied law.
|
|
Nation, Carrie
|
1846-1911
|
Reformer
Medicine Lodge
|
Married
|
Prohibition. Known for smashing saloons with her hatchets.
Active in Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WTCU), at that time the
largest women’s organization in the US. Issues: health and hygiene,
prison reform, world peace.
|
Briefly married to an alcoholic, jailed about 30 times
in 10 years
|
|
Nichols, Clarina
|
1810-1885
|
Activist
Quindaro (WY Cnty) & Lawrence
|
Divorced, remarried older news editor.
1
child. Lived in “sparse” conditions. Moved to Kansas from VT.
|
Equality, child custody, women’s higher education,
right to vote in school elections. Seen but not heard officially. Instrumental
in gaining suffrage for African American men. Helped slaves escape from
MO to KS. Debated ministers on role of women. Saw opportunity in new
state of Kansas to shape history and impact her causes. Kept in close
touch with eastern colleagues.
|
Editor, widowed, gathered petitions for her participation
at the Wyandotte (state) Constitutional Convention 1859 & was the
only woman asked to address the assemblage. Colleague of Anthony, Stone,
Brown, & Stanton whom she brought in to the suffragist cause. Public
speaker/editorial writer.
|
How
Much Does It Cost in Kansas
to Run for Public office?
Voters
|
Total Number
of Eligible Voters in Kansas (11/00)
|
|
1623623
|
|
Total Number
of Eligible Voters in Kansas (4/1/01)
|
|
1,619,065
|
|
Eligible
Female Voters in Kansas, Percentage of Total (4/1/01)
|
52
|
|
|
Eligible Male
Voters in Kansas, Percentage (4/1/01)
|
46
|
|
|
Total Number
of Voters in Kansas (11/00)
|
67.3
|
1,092,716
|
|
Estimated
Number of Female Voters in Kansas* (11/00)
|
52.0
|
568,212
|
* Percentage of Total. Based on Percentage of
Eligible Female Voters in Kansas 4/1/01.
Campaign Costs
Primary factors affecting costs
“Ball-park” Campaign Finance Figures (courtesy of Rob McKnight,
professional campaign manager)
Congressional Race - Kansas
A candidate
to run against an incumbent in Congressman Districts 1,2,4 would need about
$1˝-2 million for the primary. In the general election, the Republican candidate
would need about $1 million and a Democrat would need $1˝-2 million.
A Republican
candidate in the primary against District 3 incumbent, Democrat Dennis Moore,
would need about $1-1˝ million, and another $1˝-2 million for the general
election.
State Races
A Republican
candidate for Attorney General would need about $500,000 minimum.
A candidate for
a new house district would need about $25-35,000 for a moderate campaign.
A candidate for
senate would need about $45-60,000.
City Races
Local campaigns
vary greatly depending on the office, the size of the community and other
variables. Costs can run from almost nothing to $7,500-15,000.