This article, published in the 2/5/2021 Daily News-Record, features Heidi Muller Hoover ’10, of the Dayton Town Council and Deanna Reed, mayor of Harrisonburg and a member of 91短视频’s Board of Trustees, among several other women serving in political office.
Hoover earned a degree in history and social sciences with minors in theater and political studies. She is a 2015 graduate of Wake Forest University School of Law.
The original headline is “Better than 0%: Valley women underrepresented in local elected positions.”
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When Emily Estes decided to run for Dayton Town Council in November, she wasn鈥檛 sure she would get elected.
A town resident for 48 years, Estes didn鈥檛 come from a political background, but had seen firsthand the 鈥渦ps and downs鈥� of the town, she said.
She wanted to start somewhere, and that push to run came from the 2018 election, when a record-breaking number of women ran and won seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
鈥淚 was inspired,鈥� Estes said.
Estes is one of three women serving on Dayton鈥檚 Town Council 鈥� a rare occurrence. As of the 2020 election, Dayton and Timberville are the only towns within Rockingham County to have three women serving on council.
And while more than half of Rockingham County鈥檚 population is female, according to 2019 data from the U.S. Census Bureau, women in elected positions are heavily outnumbered by men.
Only 29.1% of elected local officials are women. They fill 23 of 79 positions in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, including constitutional offices and the Soil and Water Conservation District board of directors.
鈥淚t鈥檚 disappointing that the number is that low,鈥� Estes said.
Jessy Moubray, elected to Elkton鈥檚 Town Council in 2020, said while less than 30% is a 鈥渓ow percentage,鈥� it鈥檚 鈥渟till better than 0%.鈥�
鈥淭here is starting to be a rise of women in politics, especially at the federal level, and I look for the less than 30% in Rockingham County to climb in the near future,鈥� she said.
鈥淚 know a lot of really competent, smart, hardworking women who are already in leadership roles in other ways 鈥� on boards, leading teams at work, leading whole organizations, leading households 鈥� and I know they would be savvy, thoughtful representatives, too.鈥�
Heidi Muller Hoover ’10, Dayton Town council
A lack of women representation in elected positions isn鈥檛 uncommon for the area.
In 2018, 26% of local elected officials were women. In 2017, it was less than 25%.
Virginia ranks 29th in the country for women鈥檚 representation in state and federal government, according to Rutgers Center for American Women and Politics. Of the 140 seats in the General Assembly, 30% are filled by women. On the federal level, only three women fill seats in the U.S. House.
The governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and both U.S. senators from the state are men.
On the local level, the ratio of male-to-female representation has been increasing over the last several years, but only by one or two seats each election cycle.
During the 2020 election, there were 48 people running for positions in Rockingham County and Harrisonburg. Of those who ran, only 13 were female.
鈥淪eeing other people who look like you in leadership roles shows it鈥檚 possible. And those leaders then show the way for younger people. When you don鈥檛 see those people it can feel like it鈥檚 not an option for you.鈥�
Heidi Muller Hoover ’10, Dayton Town Council
Natalie Sherlock, who was elected to Timberville鈥檚 Town Council in 2018, said she was caught off guard by the fact that Timberville is only one of two towns with three women serving on council.
鈥淚t never really struck me that others aren鈥檛 like us,鈥� she said. 鈥淭imberville has always been 50-50 since I鈥檝e been on.鈥�
Sherlock is accompanied by council members Sharon Jones and Debbie Jessup.
Jones was first appointed to council in October 2001 after former Mayor Mac McCauley approached her about the position.
鈥淚 never thought about it at the time,鈥� she said.
After being elected in 2002, Jones has served on town council for nearly two decades and is currently the longest serving councilwoman in Rockingham County.
Throughout her tenure, Jones noticed an increase in women serving on town council in other areas, but said women may not want to run because of the time commitment it requires.
鈥淚 have talked to other women and I think women are interested, but are busy with other things,鈥� she said. 鈥淲omen don鈥檛 have the time today like they did 10 years ago.鈥�
Grottoes Mayor Jo Plaster said for her, running for office was all about timing.
鈥淢y priorities of being a mother took precedence above all else, even my professional career,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he responsibility of raising our sons and our daughters to be successful seems to be the highest of all offices to hold.鈥�
Plaster and Harrisonburg鈥檚 Deanna Reed are the only female mayors out of eight posts in the city and county.
Reed is one of 300 female mayors among 1,366 U.S. cities with more than 30,000 people as of September 2019, according to Rutgers.
Plaster said she is the third woman elected mayor in Grottoes, adding that it鈥檚 鈥渁 testament to a small, conservative town that sees the value of qualification over gender.鈥�
鈥淎nd that鈥檚 something to be very proud of,鈥� she said.
With Plaster resigning from her seat on council to become mayor, Grottoes is now the only town in the county without a woman serving.
Dayton Councilwoman Heidi Hoover said getting women to run for office starts with representation.
鈥淪eeing other people who look like you in leadership roles shows it鈥檚 possible,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd those leaders then show the way for younger people. When you don鈥檛 see those people it can feel like it鈥檚 not an option for you.鈥�
Hoover was elected in 2020 and previously served on the town鈥檚 planning commission.
She said while it鈥檚 not uncommon for women to be public servants, she would like to see more women involved.
鈥淭raditionally, many people have thought of governance as a man鈥檚 role and there has not been representation to show people who identify as women and people of color that they can and should be represented,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 know a lot of really competent, smart, hardworking women who are already in leadership roles in other ways 鈥� on boards, leading teams at work, leading whole organizations, leading households 鈥� and I know they would be savvy, thoughtful representatives, too.鈥�
But running for office can also feel like a challenge within itself.
Bridgewater Councilmember Dillina Stickley said the process can 鈥渇eel a bit daunting.鈥�
To qualify as a candidate for a local seat, some towns require a certain number of signatures to be obtained. Dayton and Mount Crawford are the only towns locally not to require petition signatures.
鈥淵ou get these signatures by going door-to-door which is incredibly time consuming and a bit more difficult in this time of COVID to procure those signatures,鈥� Stickley said. 鈥淚 can tell you that the effort is well worth it.
Stickley is the third woman to serve on Bridgewater鈥檚 Town Council, but currently the only one on the dais.
Bridgewater, Broadway and Mount Crawford all have one female elected to their town councils.
Stickley said she would like to see more females in elected positions in the county, adding the area has a 鈥渉uge pool of talented women who would serve well.鈥�
On a higher level, Rockingham County Supervisor Sallie Wolfe-Garrison is the first woman on the board in more than 40 years. The last woman to serve as supervisor was Wanda Wilt, who held the District 1 seat from 1976 to 1977, when seats were a two-year term.
Wolfe-Garrison said having the opportunity to be appointed to the position first made her more inclined to run for the position again during the 2019 election. If being appointed wasn鈥檛 an option, she said she likely would have not ran at all.
鈥淟ocal government was always interesting to me, but the election process terrified me,鈥� she said.
Wolfe-Garrison said candidates, male and female, have to be at the right place in their life to step up and participate in any level of public service. Ultimately, it is a personal decision.
The District 2 Supervisor said she hopes those who are interested in serving take the opportunity to inquire about positions up for election and ask how to get involved.
Out of the nine women in elected positions the Daily News-Record spoke with, all said they would like to see more women run for office.
鈥淔emale voices can easily be heard,鈥� Moubray said. 鈥淚f a woman has the desire and dedication to make a difference through political representation, it is simple to get started in your local community and once you do that, the world is yours.鈥�