When I attended a similar event in the past, I became aware during conversation among the female participants of the problem of threats women receive when running for and once they are in office. These threats are serious, persistent and widespread.
Women run 80% of US elections – but are targets of misogyny-laced threats
Groups like Colorado 50-50 combat these stressors and challenges with support of various kinds.
Trailer for the film.
From PBS about the documentary:
“Local elections, especially those in smaller cities in Middle America, are often overlooked by national media, even though the dynamics at play can mirror — and even predict — the ebb and flow of America’s large-scale political landscape. Represent follows three women running for office in the heart of the Midwest leading up to the 2018 midterm elections, as they take on entrenched local political networks and fight to reshape politics on their own terms.
When 22-year-old activist Myya Jones, a former Congressional intern and a college senior, announces her candidacy for mayor of Detroit she faces impossibly long odds. As word gets out, her campaign team — young women of color inspired by Myya — continues to grow. Meanwhile, in rural Granville, Ohio, after a nudge from a local women-led group established in response to the 2016 election, 33-year-old Bryn Bird, a farmer and working mother who grew up as a Democrat in the conservative Midwest countryside, runs for Township Trustee against an “old boys’ network.” And in a Chicago suburb, Korean American Julie Cho, a conservative Republican, faces unlikely odds against a popular incumbent Democrat in a race for State Representative while she also faces some outdated viewpoints from older voters within her own party.
Represent depicts the varying degrees of microaggressions faced by women candidates who run for office, and ultimately shows how much these contenders have in common, despite being on different points on the political spectrum.”
The Filmmaker
Hillary Bachelder is a documentary director, cinematographer, and editor. She is the former Director of Production at Kartemquin Films and earned both editing and production credits on over a dozen of the company’s critically acclaimed films and series, including the Emmy-award-winning Trials of Muhammad Ali, POV’s Raising Bertie, and Oscar-nominated Minding the Gap.
From their website, “Colorado 50-50 is a nonpartisan, educational group formed in the spring of 2017 by a circle of women in Fort Collins, Colorado. We believe office-holders – whether elected or appointed – should more closely reflect the population. In other words, since women make up more than 50% of the population, then women should hold at least 50% of the seats… (We are) Dedicated to gender parity for all elected offices, and appointed boards and commissions.”
The group’s Facebook page shares updates about women getting elected and events promoting solidarity, education, knowledge and encouragement.
“Emergent strategy is focused towards people who have a desire to change the world. They see that something is wrong. They see that there’s injustice, imbalance, and that deep transformation is needed. The question is, how does one transform oneself in order to bring about that transformation?”
Adrienne Maree Brown
I attended the above event on Saturday, July 15, 2023 and enjoyed meeting several currently running candidates and previous office holders in the area.
