East Harlem City Council Melissa Mark-Viverito, along with other city pols and good government groups, on Friday unveiled a first-of-its-kind initiative to boost the dwindling number of women on the City Council.
The new “21 in ‘21” campaign aims to help 21 females to the City Council by 2021.
The number of women currently serving is a mere 13, down from 18 just six years ago.
The count could drop even further because four of the women currently serving are term-limited — including Mark-Viverito, who reps the Bronx, Harlem and upper Manhattan.
Mark-Viverito said in a city as diverse as New York, it’s “shocking” how under-represented women are in the Council.
“There are times at important meetings where I’m still the only woman at the table,” she said.
The group will try and actively recruit women to run for the City Council, highlight the women that are running on their website, and help them raise campaign money.
Pioneering female pol Elizabeth Holtzman, the city’s first woman controller and a former U.S. Rep. who served on the House Judiciary Committee that recommended impeaching Richard Nixon, attended the campaign’s launch.
“I remember sitting on the House Judiciary Committee during Watergate and I can’t tell you how many people have come up to me since and said ‘I never thought about being a lawyer but I saw you there and became a lawyer,’” she said.
“Having women in positions of power makes a big difference.”
Via source
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