Just scratching the surface

It's the fourth week of the She Should Run campaign, and the nominations continue to stream in.

This project has made it crystal clear that there are talented, successful women all over the country who should run for office. Thanks to the nominations submitted by She Should Run supporters, hundreds of these women now know that they should run for office.

For example, Patricia M was nominated to run for mayor of Boston by her friend Cara. According to Cara, Patricia is:


a mother, an activist, a teacher and a trailblazer. Pat would bring life experience, compassion and a uniquely hopeful outlook of the world to public office… This is a woman who could transcend the partisan bickering of politics and patriarchal structures to affect real change in her home city.

Patricia's experience includes being a teacher in the Boston Public School system, a caretaker of her elderly mother, and the creator of the Boston Women's Heritage Trail, an organization that celebrates the achievements of women in the Boston area. Each of these pursuits has given Patricia the skills needed to be a successful public officeholder, such as compassion, creativity, and leadership.

Thanks to her friend Cara, Patricia now has the encouragement to use those skills for the public good.

So does Robin G., who was nominated by her friend Susan in Philadelphia. A small business owner active in workforce development groups, Robin has experience creating jobs and significant contacts in the business community. Susan nominated Robin to run for Congress because:


She's an African-American woman from a working-class background who's made it to the corner office in the insurance industry—but never forgets where she came from… She's smart, determined and a real visionary who is very experienced in organizational nuts and bolts. She has a real gift for building consensus.

With those qualities, Robin would make a terrific Congresswoman. Now, after Susan's nomination, maybe Robin will take the leap and enter the race.

Finally there is this heartfelt nomination: Stephanie T. of Charlottesville, Virginia, wants her mom Trisha to run for the state legislature because she "speaks her mind," "speaks genuinely from the heart," and
"personally knows economic adversity." Stephanie added:


My mother is now retired, but worked 15 years as a medical secretary at a large research hospital. She is a proud union supporter, an advocate for mothers and children, a believer in a living wage and worker's rights, and a devoted Democrat!

Stephanie also highlights her mom's experience as a "low-wage worker," her record of volunteering with the local Democratic Party, and her support for good schools and a clean environment. As her daughter says, Trisha:


is also a school volunteer, a gardener, a wife and a caretaker when friends are sick. She brings a perspective that career politicians don't have.

Patricia, Robin, Trisha, and the rest of the women nominated so far in the She Should Run campaign all have unique experience, skills, and perspectives. But we're only scratching the surface. There are millions more women out there who need to be encouraged to run for office. To keep our momentum going, we need as many of them as possible to be told: She Should Run!