Women Who Rock feature: Elected Leading Ladies

Women Who Rock

WOMEN WHO ROCK - ELECTED LEADERS EDITION

Ethel Edwards Michelle De La Isla Laura Kelly

Kathleen Sebelius Joan Finney Clarina Nichols

by Sarah Coats-Woods | photo by Chuck Hanna Women's March, Jan. 21, 2017 | seveneightfive archives

EXPANDING THE FRANCHISE IN POLITICAL CAPITAL

What a time to be alive. We are able to

learn and read about the women who’ve paved the way for Kansas women while being surrounded by women in political leadership positions within our own town.

To write about the women who are rocking local politics is an honor.

Kansas sits in the buckle of the Bible Belt and yet we have an incredibly progressive history, rich with strong women. From having fought and won to be a Free State, to Topeka being home to the very brave Brown family that fought to desegregate schools; throughout Kansas history our community has had people fighting for progressive ideas, inclusion and equality.

THANK YOU; 1ST WOMEN OF KS

Clarina Nichols moved to Kansas in 1854 and began working for womens' rights and civil rights for people of color. She was the recognized leader of the women’s movement and started advocating for Kansas constitutional amendments for women’s and African-American’s right to vote as early as 1859. This amendment called for equal political and civil rights “impartial to sex or color.” She went on to help with the national movement of women’s suffrage to gain all women the franchise in an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that was finally ratified on August 18, 1920. Her work created opportunities for women to be able to run for office and that’s exactly what they did. As early as 1887 women began taking local offices in Kansas. Susanna Madora Salter of Argonia, KAN was the first woman in the nation to be elected mayor.

The work of these women before me is not lost or forgotten. I stand in awe and gratitude of all they fought for and for standing true to their convictions. They dedicated their lives to opening doors that made it possible for Kansas to be the only state with three women governors, all of whom happened to be Democratic.

LEADERSHIP IS SERVICE-MINDED

Joan Finney was the first woman elected Kansas Governor in 1990. She was the first woman in the United States to beat an incumbent governor. Prior to being Governor, she served as the first woman elected State Treasurer in 1975 and held that position until she became Governor.

Former two-term Governor Sebelius was appointed to President Obama’s cabinet. As Secretary of Health and Human services she was an integral part of the Affordable Care Act and advocated for accessible, affordable healthcare for all.

Laura Kelly, our newly inaugurated 48th Governor, served fourteen years as State Senator. She has a long history of advocating for women, families and equal opportunities. As she speaks of fully funding schools, she is including poor rural schools, poor inner city schools, and the needs of children throughout our state.

She advocated for an additional million dollars to go to domestic violence agency funding and it passed. She held a seat in the Child Welfare System Task Force. She asked the challenging questions. She wanted the facts and reports in front of her. And she held others accountable with her strong leadership. She stands by those issues with dedication and shows us she is a woman of her word.

As Governor, she reinstated an anti-discrimination for LGBTQ+ policy for state employees through executive order on her first day of office. She took time out of her day to listen to the people at the People’s State of the State. She spoke to the importance of equality and inclusiveness for all Kansans. She’s less than a month on the job and I am already proud of what she has accomplished.

INCLUSION + DIVERSITY

Mayor Michelle De La Isla was the first Hispanic mayor of Topeka. She is a founding member of Hermanitas, a mentor program for Latina girls. Michelle does not hide the hardships she has endured in her life, instead she leans into them and speaks openly and honestly. She speaks about her challenges as a young woman, a young single mother, and being a survivor of domestic violence. She radiates compassion and hope for fellow Topekans in the work she does every day. She spent many years working as executive director of Habitat for Humanity. She grew the program to include a ReStore, which focuses on home improvement projects as well as building homes. She does not look down on those suffering in our community. She looks for ways to make sure they have their needs met and their voices heard.

As an advocate for domestic violence and sexual assault agencies in our community, De La Isla started a Mayor’s Task Force for domestic violence to bring multiple community resources and responders together to talk about how we can work together to hold offenders accountable and provide safe, confidential services to survivors. She is also the Diversity and Inclusion representative for Westar Energy.

Toepkans can easily stay informed, as De La Isla provides podcasts of what she’s working on and what’s important to her, is active on social media and regularly attends community events. Mayor De La Isla is the standard for an accessible and transparent elected person.

CHANGE; RAISE YOUR HAND

The long, grueling and cumbersome amount of energy that goes into successful elections is in part due to the handwork of people at the local level. Ethel Edwards has devoted her life and work to education, labor rights and voting accessibility. Ethel worked many years as an educator and continues to be involved with the Kansas National Education Association. They work with current and retired educators to support teachers, students and their families in the community and political realm. Ethel understands the importance of voting accessibility and works around the clock at the Shawnee County Democrats Headquarters as the elected chair.

She organizes precinct wards and precinct committee persons to help voters know their polling locations, explain absentee voting options, and provide literature about candidates. She works with local agencies to help with community service projects including Kansas Children and Service League to annually host pictures in the Shawnee County Democrats’ office, located at 17th and Fairlawn, of children in Kansas looking for forever homes.

She organizes fundraising and service projects to volunteer and help our community. Ethel is heavily involved with the League of Women Voters which works to register voters and educate people on their voting rights. Without a woman like Ethel working day and night in our community, we may not be able to celebrate the women leaders we currently have in office.

Let us remember where we came from, where we are, and where we have to go. Let us continue to stand in solidarity with the women before us and next to us and the budding women

leaders to come. aseveneightfive

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