Chapter 3: Building Support Infrastructure

We are 100% doing this by the skin of our teeth and by the conviction of our hearts.”

Those of us who are committed to doing this [work to support women] will do it, volunteer, you know, because we’re committed to doing it. But I do think if it could be resourced…we could really make a difference.”

It sucks that we have to [build a support infrastructure for women] this way…this underpaid, no pay, volunteer movement of women. But I think that’s the history, so I guess we just have to keep pushing.”

I have never taken a salary from She Can Win, I’ve never gotten paid. …I think in year three of me just doing it [myself], more people took notice, more philanthropies took notice. …I would say 2016, obviously the pink wave I guess they still call it, was good for us because we had already established a track record in the place and we were a trusted voice. So I do think that the influx of resources came then. The problem with the influx of resources is when something else then becomes hot and sexy. Like now, right now it’s defending voting rights, right? You kind of got to pivot to keep up with the market. And I wasn’t interested in pivoting. I think that there are really great established organizations right now that are doing voting rights and voting access and voter registration that we don’t necessarily tackle. That’s not our space. So it’s the trends of politics that affect the resources. But oh my goodness, if I could I would have 100% hired a staff. We never made enough in operating to really hire staff because I was always nervous about taking in a large influx of money but then not being able to sustain it. …I’ve always been very careful and cautious about sustainability of a program and funders like to fund you in one shot, not necessarily multi-year grants for an organization like ours. [Interview conducted in February 2022.]”

Thinking that there aren’t resources out there to help [is a hurdle to women running for office]. …A big part of the work that I’m doing with Sally’s List is to make sure that people know that this organization exists, that it’s free, and that this is the first place you can turn to if you are considering running. But I think it’s just that feeling of a lack of support. …It makes a hard thing even harder.”

Sometimes men don’t understand why women need special groups of women – like, ‘Oh, if we had a special group of men, you’d think it was discriminatory.’ It’s because we haven’t been in these positions of leadership and power as long as men have. But I think it’s really, really important that women have sounding boards, that they have mentors, that they have groups that they can go to and share their vulnerabilities and be helped up into the political process. I will tell you that is a major goal of mine.”

I think being unapologetic about needing that level of support is something that we need to do. …We need a space just to talk because men will be men. Men take up a lot of air no matter Black, white, green, whatever. [We need a space] where can we come together and work through the realization of what it means to be in politics, number one, being a woman in politics, and then adding being a Black woman in politics and what does that mean? And the hurdles and the stress and consequences that come with that.”

It does become overwhelming as a Latina legislator. …I want to be good. I want to make a positive impact on my community. And I feel like oftentimes it’s just on my shoulders, like I have to [wear] all these hats. And it’s like with what capacity, right?”

I would say there’s a support infrastructure to some degree [for women in Illinois politics]. And it’s in silos. …There is some support system [for women in politics in Illinois] but it’s not centralized. There’s no real centralized support system. That’s my view.”

I’m going to say there’s not a cohesive [support infrastructure for women in politics] because there are so many silos of these different support systems. And you have to go find them. So if there was, you know, just like a guide – like you’re running for local office, you’re running for office in Oklahoma, who do you contact? What are your first steps? That, to me, would have been most helpful.”

We need to make sure…that the infrastructure is in place so that when a woman runs…they are supported not just politically but financially, emotionally, relationally. These things have to be in place…in order for a woman legislator to be successful.”

I think one of the supports that we need to be giving is some mental health, right? …Because that’s having to deal with people who don’t believe in you every day, who want to question you every day. That is very draining. And that’s why people who run once, they’re like, ‘I don’t think I want to run again. Too much. Somebody [else] can step it up and run.’”

The toxicity of our politics [gives me pause for concern]. It’s definitely a disincentive for…everyone, but I think it’s particularly a disincentive for women because the vitriol that we get is much worse. I lost count of how many people over the last two years during the pandemic got their first death threat and called me first, [telling me] ‘You were the first person I thought of to ask what I should do about this,’ because I’ve been getting them forever as a lesbian, as a woman, as a big target – they’ve been coming for me for a long time. So that was a really interesting moment. The first time somebody called me…[I thought] ‘Oh God, I didn’t realize that’s who I was, you know.’”

I think that there has to be the infrastructure…[in] terms of when women decide to run…that they can pay people to help them to run and they can live when they run. And that’s what I’m experiencing right now. I didn’t think it would impact me but it does. The economics of running is just not discussed and it’s not easy for women to run if you’re head of household, if you have children, even when you may have a partner you both may have to work, so I just think we don’t talk about money enough in politics and…what it really takes to win. …You don’t want to say to people, ‘Don’t run,’ but if we don’t have real conversations about…how money affects our politics then that’s a disservice to women, too. [Interview conducted in July 2022 before Mayes was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in November 2022.]”

With the recruitment coalition this year we provided hotel stays for people who had to travel far to come up [to the capital] to qualify [as a candidate]. We have a qualifying fees fund. We did gas cards and, in all of the events that I do, I provide childcare onsite. So we’re doing a lot of things to help with breaking barriers for women. …We are constantly thinking about and looking at the different ways that we can break barriers. [Interview conducted in April 2022.]”

The other thing that’s happening, I think nationally but in Nevada…is we are recruiting women – Emerge and PLAN [Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada] and all sorts of groups – but…there [are] probably three campaign managers left in the state. …You can recruit everybody up the ying-ying but if you don’t have people to actually help you execute that race from school board on up, then we’ve got…problems. …So that is part of what hurts women.”

I was just talking to another consultant the other day. She and I were talking because we’re like okay, we’re doing all the work…can’t sleep, can’t eat because all of these candidates need us. …We need more firms of color doing mail. We need more firms of color doing phones, more firms of color doing digital. …When it comes to really having influence on campaigns, as far as execution and as far as where the economics [are], you don’t have a lot of minorities in those positions. …Then when it comes to myself and this other young lady I was talking to, a lot of stuff we do, we just do it. Like I have six campaigns right now, two are paying me because I have to help these women and I have to help these candidates. I have two men, I have to help them, you know because there are not enough other people out there to really help them. So it’s kind of like a love offering per se but if I could have time to start doing mail or phones or something else with somebody else, that could give me the revenue that I need to do all this charity work that I’m doing, you know. [Interview conducted in April 2022.]”

I could barely find a campaign manager. …And then when I did, they didn’t have the skillset that I needed for that level of race. There was no diversity in terms of race and gender and background. …Not even just women running, Black women running, we don’t have anybody to work on our campaigns. And I actually was able to raise money. So I wasn’t trying to get people to work for free. I couldn’t find people. …There was nowhere for me to go to find them. …And so that is the other piece that I think we’re missing. [Interview conducted in July 2022 before Mayes was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in November 2022.]”

Honestly, I think [providing financial support to women candidates is] a part of [the strategy to move the needle for women] but I don’t think that’s the end all be all…especially with campaign finance laws and things like that. A PAC like Georgia WIN List could only contribute $2,800 or something like that. So in the grand scheme of the campaign, $2,800 is great, an endorsement from Georgia WIN List is great. But I think the real support comes in with how much work can an organization do? Or how much work can a network of people do to actually help to get voters in that district to show up? Because I think that that’s what some people forget. …It’s not about getting the endorsements. It’s not about getting the money. It’s about actually getting the voters in that district to support this person. …I think obviously PACs and those organizations play an important role. I don’t think that alone is enough.”

We’re not doing any endorsements for the primary…mostly because it runs up into issues of…we might have a male incumbent who is incredibly passionate about helping women and then you have a new challenger and it was like okay, then what kind of spot are we putting ourselves into? We can’t just support someone just because of one reason. There’s a whole multitude of things that are included in that, including ability to win the election.”

There are these pioneer women who did things like fight for the abortion protection amendment in the 1990s and women like [Congresswoman] Dina Titus or [former state Senator] Helen Foley who at one point were the only women in a room who had made a concerted effort across the years to say, ‘I’m going to bring you with me.’ And it may not mean that tomorrow you are in elected office but let’s just keep opening this door, and I think we’re seeing the results of generations of women empowering each other to be in leadership.”

I think there [are] a lot of women who are…mentors and either have run for office and won or lost, current [and] former elected officials. It’s a small state where people are willing to sit down, have coffee with you, give advice. And that may seem trivial or not important but I think that that sharing of experience and information is incredibly important and there is a legacy of women mentoring women in Nevada. And I know that because I feel part of that and grateful to the women who are there.”

And some of these groups will actually charge money to go to some of their trainings, right? There’s that barrier, too, especially if you are a new candidate who doesn’t have the funds yet. …Like okay, I’ve got to raise money to apply, or raise money to even go to this panel — do I go? Stuff that’s done during the workday becomes very inaccessible to working-class families, working-class individuals. Or if I have to travel for it, if there’s no opportunity for travel scholarships, I guess I won’t go. Those kinds of decisions, I think, are some of the conversations that people are having.”

Most of these organizations tend to operate like sororities and fraternities and if you are not someone that fits the model, if you’re outspoken on certain issues…or you say something that puts a blemish on the party on the organization or the apparatus, they tend to kind of shy away. …So when you asked me the question, ‘Do you feel there is a pathway or a support system [for women in Georgia politics]?’ – yeah there is, if you fit the model.”

I believe from what I have experienced and seen here [in Northwestern Pennsylvania], you need the local support. You need some local women that other women know, who they trust, and who they have faith in, [that] would come forward and support them. And that’s why we’re going to create something locally here.”

So there is [a support infrastructure for Democratic women in politics], but…not for the local level. That is what I found.”

Running for state legislator was fairly different than running for [district attorney]. …A lot of those organizations that endorse [in legislative elections], don’t endorse DA races. …I had to find…different groups that would endorse, but they were all concerned about, ‘Oh, it’s connected with judiciary and that should be nonpartisan. And so we can’t do that.’ And I’m like, ‘No, guys, you need to really look at these races.’ …These races…are determining what’s happening in our criminal legal system.”

I think that what we’re not seeing at the pace that we need it [are] supports for women who are already elected. And I think that’s because so few have gone there, right? So if you have walked in those shoes to know what supports we even need…we’re still figuring out how to do that.”

Maybe the gap that exists is maybe not even necessarily getting women into office but getting women to the next level of office. …Because I do think there are a lot of times…people are really excited to elect a woman for state representative, for school board, for city council, for borough mayor, but then there isn’t necessarily the investment to get them to the next level. …And the recruitment that happens for those positions from the pool of elected leaders, if you will, often falls to men.”

I think that [the support infrastructure for women in politics] also needs to be beyond just women who are running for office or who are in office because being in politics is multifaceted. I often feel like the women who are the campaign managers or the finance directors or the communications staff are often not…looked at when we’re having these types of conversations. But these are the women that are helping people win or that are maintaining the agenda, right? Or the backbone of whoever it is, right, you know? …I’m thinking of so many city council representatives that have key women who are really shaping either their campaigns or their day-to-day, right? And so how are those women part of the overall conversation as well?”

No. I don’t think [a support infrastructure for Asian women in Nevada politics exists] at all. And I think if you talk to the Latina women in our state, I think they will tell you the same exact thing. …I can’t imagine a woman of color not saying the same thing.”

I think the biggest gap to me is that we don’t have…organizations that specifically recruit Black women, Latinx women, Asian women, and Native women. …And, you know, within Sally’s List we have initiatives…they’re doing stuff to do that. But I think that in order for it to really be successful, it needs to be its own standalone thing. …So whether it’s its own thing or maybe if there was capacity within Sally’s List to have standing initiatives or standing committees that are only…really to recruit and train Black women, only to recruit and train Native women, and that type of thing. …I know that they want to do some of that. But…where do we build those relationships and get to that trust? I think that’s just something that’s lacking. [Interview conducted in December 2021 before Benjamin became Board President of Sally’s List.]”

I think we’re doing our best – myself, Josina, other women of color – we’re doing our best to help bring in other women of color. …We’re trying our best to get other women of color involved and plugged into this informal network of other women and making sure we support and continue to foster the love of public service and politics and outreach and organizing. …And we’re going to need to, even myself, [to] make space for those people to bring in their experiences and their issues and so they can solve other issues that maybe I did not experience but that they are more in touch with. So just continuing that cycle of inclusiveness and just bringing other people in. I think that will also help us build up more women of color in politics.”

When I look for gatekeepers…it’s white women. Your gatekeepers are white women. Look at every organization…any program that trains people how to run for office is run by white women. …It’s like we have to prove to the white women and not necessarily that they are holding office. They are running these spaces that become key when you want to run for office. …Going back to infrastructure, where will Latinas go? Where do we go? Anything Latino or Hispanic is run by Latino men and…[we] might as well go with the white women and give them the sense of the white savior. …And to them, sometimes it feels like we’re some sort of charity work to help a Latina that wants to run for office. …And then you walk into these spaces and [there’s a] disconnection. …They just don’t understand how the system works for us, Latinos and immigrants. …[It] goes back to what does [the] infrastructure look like for Latinas or for women of color? …It’s almost like I have to put up with [white-women-led organizations] if I want to run for office because they put it like ‘the sisterhood.’ We have each other’s back, we help each other. …So yes, they have a board that…looks diverse but it’s still white women teaching women of color how to be leaders in our community.”

So I think from my perspective, it’s less [white women] gatekeeping and, in my perspective and in the position I’m in, more of a tokenization. The white women that I take issue with are very keen to have me in a space to be like, ‘Look, I have this Indigenous leader. I have this Indigenous representation. She’s a woman. She’s native. I’m so excited.’ As soon as I’m there to bring perspective and be like, ‘Hey, this is what you’re doing wrong. This is how we should move this forward. This is what’s going to be best for our community.’ Then it gets shut down. And so I think it’s very keen to keep us in a very specific space right now. And it’s interesting because it’s continuing to uphold sort of that same power dynamic and structure they experienced.”

I think [women’s political organizations] are needing to also shift especially around women of color. I think that…we need to push our allies to identify some of that inherent bias that they have within their own organizations, and a lot of them are doing that. …I think it’s important for people that are in positions like I am to call out some of that disparity.”

Well, you know, when I ran for office I got lots of info on EMILY’s List and Sally’s List and those PACs that are really progressive and want you to vote their way and stuff like that. And there was never any group of women that said, ‘We’re so glad you’re running. We’d like to throw our support your way.’”

I mean all of those organizations [for women in politics] – you rattle them off in your head or [are] making a little list talking about support [for] women to be in office – name one of them that support Republican women. …Not everybody is a cookie cutter in terms of ideology. And honestly I don’t think an echo chamber of ideas or litmus test of ideological purity benefits anyone in the world that we live in.”

As far as where we are today, what kind of resources that [are] available [for women], I will have to say the Democrats I feel like have us beat on that. [Interview conducted in January 2022.]”

What I see with some of the [programs] that are just nonpartisan in the state of Oklahoma, they are actually seen as partisan. So, you know, I think once you see the players and everyone involved, then you start to see, well, it may not be as nonpartisan as we think. And so I think conservative women tend to take a step back and look for other ways to be able to get involved.”

A lot of these organizations that get set up, they present themselves as bipartisan and then you go and look at who they supported and they really do tend to be one side or the other. I can’t think of any one organization that is truly focusing on women [that] supports both Republicans and Democrats.”

I think it’s extremely important [to have a support infrastructure for women in politics] because naturally we are emotional beings. And…we do have sensitivities that I don’t think our male counterparts deal with as much as we do or the way we feel it. Understanding how to operate in leadership and still have compassion and not lose yourself are things that I think we do need. …We need that support. I’m not opposed to that. I think that there’s strength in having support and seeking help and having assistance. And so I think it’s extremely important and I would love to see more and more of that. I just don’t want it to be biased. I don’t want to look like…we are so broken that we need all this help, right?”

And the Democrats have done a really good job, even though it’s identity politics, which Republicans, I think, are now kind of starting to lean towards to some degree but that’s not really in our DNA. Democrats have done a really good job with identity politics. And they still have the group, I believe, called Emerge. …We had Silver State [Excellence in Public Service Series] on our side and that fizzled out. Why? I don’t know.”