
DATE: Thursday, March 6, 1997               TAG: 9703060352

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B9   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 

DATELINE: RICHMOND                          LENGTH:   88 lines

RETIREMENTS THREATEN TO ERASE WOMEN'S GAINS IN THE ASSEMBLY

Two women say they are retiring from the General Assembly and three others are considering quitting, a development that could reverse recent female gains in one of the nation's most male-dominated legislatures.

The potential mass exodus of female legislators worries groups that promote more political involvement by women.

``Unless a concerted effort is made, we might fall back to where we were prior to 1995,'' said Claudia Salomon of Richmond, president of Make Women Count, which works to get female candidates elected in Virginia.

Virginia ranked 46th in female representation in the General Assembly until 1995, when five women won seats formerly held by men. The state now ranks 40th.

Twenty-one of Virginia's 140 legislators, or 15 percent, are women. The national average is 21.5 percent.

Dels. Jean W. Cunningham of Richmond and Julia A. Connally of Arlington already have announced they will not seek re-election.

Dels. Gladys Keating of Fairfax, Mary Christian of Hampton and Flora Crittenden of Newport News also are considering retirement. All are Democrats.

Debbie Walsh, acting director of the Center for the American Woman in Politics at Rutgers University in Camden, N.J., said the retirement of so many female legislators at one time would be rare.

``The implications of that kind of turnover are big because you're working with such a small number of women in the first place,'' Walsh said.

She said legislatures need a strong female presence because women ``bring a different set of life experiences and priorities that, from our perspective, enriches the process.''

Walsh said the center's studies have shown that females are more likely to focus on education, health, the elderly and women's rights issues, while men tend to stress business and financial policies.

Salomon agreed that women bring an important perspective to lawmaking and said her organization will double its efforts to make sure that view is not diminished.

``Our fundraising efforts and candidate recruiting efforts are even more imperative than before,'' she said.

Make Women Count, a bipartisan organization governed by an all-female, 18-member board of directors, hopes to raise $75,000 to contribute to female candidates in this year's elections, Salomon said.

``I'm not sure there are enough women waiting in the wings,'' said Keating, who chairs the assembly's women's caucus. ``I'm very upset about the fact that we might lose women.''

Walsh said she could not pinpoint why more women have not been elected to the Virginia legislature, but females generally fare poorly in conservative states.

Four of the five states with the lowest female representation are in the South, with Alabama at the bottom with only six women among its 140 lawmakers - 4.3 percent. Washington ranks No. 1 at 38.8 percent.

Virginia historically has been slow to recognize women politically.

A few women served in the House of Delegates in the 1920s, but none served from 1934 to 1954.

Also, Virginia did not ratify the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, giving women the right to vote, until 1952 - 32 years after the amendment was ratified nationally. ILLUSTRATION: [Photo]

ASSOCIATED PRESS

House speaker Thomas Moss, right, D-Norfolk wishes Del. Jean

Cunningham, D-Richmond, well after she announces her retirement.

Cunningham is one of only 21 female lawmakers in the 140-member

legislature.

[Chart]

STATE RANKINGS

The dozen states with the lowest percentages of female legislators,

according to Rutgers University's Center for the American Woman and

Politics:

50. Alabama 4.3 percent.

49. Kentucky 9.4.