Run, Mama Run!: Bock the Women's Vote

It may not be 2012 yet, but important elections are already being held -- and one mission of MOMocrats is to shine a light on the races of progressive women running for office on all levels: Federal, state and local. This piece was written by EMILY's List Executive Director, Amy Dacey, who spent the weekend in San Francisco doing what the organization does best: training women in the art of politics and supporting their choice for District Attorney, candidate Sharmin Bock.

Last week, I touched down in sunny California ready to spend a weekend helping candidates and speak at an EMILY’s List training. 

I was able to attend an event for Sharmin Bock’s campaign for San Francisco District Attorney, and when I arrived on Chestnut Street on Saturday afternoon she welcomed me with open arms.  We talked briefly about how things are progressing and how close the race is.  She’s up on television with an ad about her experience as a prosecutor and her success rate putting criminals behind bars.  

The more we can tell San Francisco about Sharmin, the more people see she’s the best choice. While we met, Sharmin was jumping up every few minutes to talk to voters about her experience and what she hopes to do to keep up the good work in the District Attorney’s office.  Supporters arrived and they talked about the importance of this race, not just locally but across the country, because strong women in office help create better public policy and ensure our values are represented.

Sharmin talked about what it means for her to run for office.  She said women running help set an example for her 13 year old daughter Fiona who told her that more women need to be serving in government.   I couldn’t agree more!

Elections like these are won and lost by the little things.  We've got one week until the Election Day on November 8th.  Whether you can canvass neighborhoods, support financially, or spread the word about the campaign on Twitter, your help makes a difference.  

Everyone had a great trip, but we were most excited about Sharmin Bock.  She’s the most experienced and, by far, the best person for the job.

This year, we've seen the EMILY’s List pipeline in action over and over again.  With our Political Opportunity Program (POP), we have recruited and trained local and state leaders who are well-prepared to move up to the next level:

• EMILY’s List alum Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin moved from local office to Congress, and now we’re excited to endorse her for the U. S. Senate.  
• Right behind her, we’ve got “On the List” candidate State Rep. Kelda Roys moving up to run for the open Congressional seat, and that’s just one state.  
• In California, we’re so happy to have Attorney General Kamala Harris, who was previously the San Francisco District Attorney.  

Now Sharmin Bock is moving up from the role of prosecutor to run for that District Attorney seat, and we’ve got to help her win!

If you want to get involved in the EMILY’s List Political Opportunity Program you can learn more here, and help us change the face of politics at the local, state, and national level. 

Comments

[Mitch Rodriquez]

I appreciate her convictions into putting this nonsense people from always making women look so dirty by putting them into prostitution. I always felt so sad seeing this women on streets. It is really hard to live up to what is to be done with life but can't we not understand that survival means to work hard on a decent kind of living which is something you can be proud of even if you get paid little by little.

[Kiersten Krog]

I think that more women need to run for office. It's just sad that 50 percent of the population doesn't hold 50 percent of elected seats in The Senate, The House, Judges, Governors, etc. The women that have run and won these positions are an example to all of us. They have the drive and the determination to not let stereotypes of powerful women get in their way such as they are ugly or they are lesbian. Despite these unfair and false stereotypes these women do their jobs fantastically. I wish that more women would see the success these women have had and run for an elected position in our country. I want to see the day a woman is our president. I think it's about time that we had a female president, its only been almost 250 years. I think Sahrmin Bock would be great for this position and should definitely win!

[Tia G]

I agree. More women should run for and attain more political positions.

[Chanelle]

I agree with her daughters opinion that there needs to be more women serving in government, especially women with Sharmin Bock's values. In order to make an even bigger impact on the rate at which young girls are forced into prostitution, we need more powerful women leading our government. Even though I believe that this is a relevant, rising, and extremely large issue, our government has failed to do much about it. With women like Sharmin Bock in power, us women can help put an end to human trafficking once and for all. We CAN make a difference and put an end to stereotypes against women in power.