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    Path Forged, Next Steps Needed

    leslieWe just finished celebrating the DCCC Ultimate Women’s Power Luncheon hosted by Leader Nancy Pelosi. Last year, the luncheon featured Hillary Clinton. This year, it honored Senator Boxer, and every year, it highlights ris­ing women stars running for, or who are already in, Congress. Rep. Pelosi, from her very first days in office, has understood and championed the im­portance of bringing more women into political office, as well as being a strong and effective champion for our com­munity. She pushed for greater fund­ing for AIDS treatment and research, for funding for women’s health, and so much more.

    In a remarkable moment in history, a woman was recommended by a wom­an (Rep. Sala Burton) to be her suc­cessor in the House. Another histori­cal, and pivotal, moment was when this very publication, the San Francisco Bay Times, endorsed Nancy Pelosi and noted how important and beneficial it would be to lift up women’s voices for our City. How unbelievably pre­scient—not only did Rep. Pelosi rise rapidly through the leadership ranks, but she also became the first, and so far, only female Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Watch­ing the machinations occurring over a successor to Speaker Boehner, we cannot underestimate how difficult and delicate holding such a position can be, and Leader Pelosi brought her colleagues together in a strong, digni­fied and unified fashion.

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    The annual Women’s Power Lun­cheon brings together over one thou­sand women, and men, to offer support for current female leaders, but also, to highlight the next generation of leader­ship. This year, an issues conference preceded the lunch where breakout sessions occurred so that strong and meaningful dialogues could take place. Carol King later brought many in the room to tears as she touched on her career, and then Senator Boxer took center stage. She, too, has held countless events focused on empow­ering women. Her annual Women Making History lunch certainly does that. Perhaps we could wish it were not necessary to have these kind of focused events, yet, at the same time, we see how important such leadership and mentorship can be.

    I recently spoke to a group of wom­en in the Central African Republic about leadership, and the central theme was both to find and to be a mentor. Senator Boxer and Rep. Pelo­si have embodied those precepts and countless women have benefited from their guidance. My first official cam­paign position was on Nancy Pelosi’s campaign for Congress, and then on Barbara Boxer’s campaign for Senate, so I saw firsthand, and was the benefi­ciary of, their guidance and support for other women. They highlighted the importance of training and help­ing those that followed, and always acknowledged those who had paved the path and mentored them.

    Now, more than ever, we need to make sure that the path these strong women have created for so many con­tinues to move forward. As noted in prior columns, we have made advanc­es in our numbers, but there is still a long way to go. Seeing what happens when we have strong female leader­ship, not only in terms of policy, but also in terms of the focus on training, supporting and acknowledging oth­ers, cannot be discounted.

    We have one of our own, Sen. Tammy Baldwin, in the U.S. Senate, and she would be one of the first to say that when she was in the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi was there for her, and now, in the Senate, Barbara Boxer is serving as a mentor. We see what a difference it can make when we expand the opportunities and leadership of women in elected office. The San Francisco Bay Times led the way via the courageous endorse­ment in 1987, so once again, we con­tinue to be…Ready for Her.

    Leslie R. Katz is a former member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, was the co-author of the City’s Equal Benefits Ordinance, has served on the SF Democratic County Central Committee (as Chair, and as a general member), and serves on the Cal­ifornia Democratic Party’s Executive Board. She is an attorney with a government law, policy and strategy practice, with a focus on emerging technologies.