It occured to me, going over the list of potential candidates, that over half the population is not making a very good showing. Yes, I am talking about women! Traditionally, it seems, at least as many women as men run for school boards, but that is not true for city councils, park districts, and sewer and water districts. Why?
Let’s look at the current list of possible candidates for Thousand Oaks City Council, that I got from the Ventura County Elections Division. One woman, Deborah Birenbaum, is listed, and seven men. For the CVUSD board, two men have papers, and one woman.
For Triunfo Sanitation District, I have pulled papers, along with five men, and Oak Park MAC, one man, Michael Paule, filed, and for OPUSD, one woman, Mary Pallant took out papers.
Counting up possible candidates so far, for these positions, there are four women and fifteen men! I frankly am surprised at the discrepancy in potential candidates by sex, and urge women who may be interested in running for a position to really consider it. Serving on a board is a great learning experience. What is really needed to serve, in my opinion, is common sense and a willingness to do one’s homework and ask questions!
Opinion by Janna Orkney
Katie Teague // Jul 24, 2010 at 1:57 PM
I would like to see someone qualifed run for the Ventura County Board of Education in the East County.