ROANOKE TIMES

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, April 25, 1995                   TAG: 9504260051
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium


CANDIDATES

IN A year when politicians of all stripes are eager to appease angry white males, and affirmative action is taking hits from every side, it may seem foolish to suggest the following. But Virginia's Democratic and Republican parties need to engage in more affirmative action to recruit women candidates for the General Assembly.

Women, to be sure, are under-represented in all America's legislative bodies, including the U.S. Congress. That does not excuse Virginia's lack of progress in including more women among its elected representatives. More than in most states, the commonwealth's House of Delegates and Senate remain good-ol'-boys clubs: Whereas 21 percent of state lawmakers nationwide are women, in Virginia only 11 percent are - with women now holding 16 of 140 seats. That puts Virginia fifth from the bottom in the nation, ahead only of Oklahoma, Louisiana, Kentucky and Alabama.

It's not that there's been massive resistance to female candidates. Both parties in Virginia have welcomed them, particularly in recent years. (Both also have nominated women for statewide offices.)

Still, the parties need to do a better job of actively recruiting and supporting female candidates, especially for the General Assembly. Too often, talented and intelligent women are overlooked as prospective winners - or are bypassed in the local nominating process if a male, any male, is available. Tired old biases and stereotyping still prevail:

Women aren't ``tough'' enough on crime, or aren't savvy enough about economic development. Or, they are narrow-issue candidates who want to discuss child care, health care, education and environmental protection - as if these were trivial pursuits.

In this year's legislative elections, partisan control of both houses of the General Assembly is on the line, and with it possibly the direction of state government for several years to come. With so much at stake, both parties owe it to the electorate to field their best and brightest - and to field candidates for all 140 seats.

In the Lynchburg area, for example, Democrats have been unable to find a candidate to run for the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Democrat Elliot Schewel. Have they looked inside the PTAs and other civic organizations where women have been developing leadership skills for years?



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