Published: August 20, 2007 02:37 pm         

Anniversary of women's suffrage marked Sunday

It’s been 87 years since the right to vote was given to the country’s largest voting bloc — women.

Sunday will mark the anniversary of the day the U.S. Constitution was amended to grant women the right to vote. While American women now comprise more than half of the nations voting age population, according to a press release from the League of Women Voters of Gainesville, that’s not enough according to national officers of the same organization.

Mary G. Wilson, national League of Women Voters president, said in a press statement, “This year, we’ve witnessed a number of remarkable milestones for women: a female Speaker of the House of Representatives, and a major contender for the 2008 Presidential election (Sen. Hillary Clinton) is a woman. In communities across the country, citizens still lack real representation by their elected officials and the policies they pass. It is only with the continued work of citizens and leaders, of all backgrounds, that this can change.”

In Cooke County, eight out of 19 county and district court elected officials are female — County Attorney Tanya Davis, County Clerk Rebecca Lawson, Tax Assessor-Collector Billie Jean Knight, Treasurer Judy Hunter, Justice of the Peace for Precinct 1 Dorthy Lewis, District Attorney Cindy Stormer and District Judge Janelle Haverkamp.

Positions held by Haverkamp, Stormer, Davis and Knight are up for election in 2008.

Hunter said as far as voting goes, it is a privilege of which women should take full advantage.

“It’s very important that they get out and vote,” she said. “And I hope they (women) will take that opportunity to make their mark.”

Knight said with nearly half the county government being female there is a strong tradition of women in office from whom to learn.

“I think that women have made great strides in county government, and we’ve always had great women serving this county, as well as having wonderful footsteps to follow in,” Knight said.

At least one noted historical figure in Gainesville was a pioneer in granting women the right to vote.

According to a historical marker at the Gainesville Civic Center, W.T.G. Weaver, former Confederate soldier and district attorney for whom Weaver Street is named, served as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1875 in post-Civil War Texas. Weaver, according to the historical marker, advocated giving women the right to vote.

At the state level, about 20 percent of Texas Legislators are female. Currently, women make up about 23 percent of the 7,382 state legislators serving in the U.S., according to the Center For American Women In Politics.

Federally, 16 women serve in the Senate out of 100 members and 70 women serve in the House of Representatives out of 435 members.

Sandra Currie, Gainesville League of Women Voters president, said women and men alike should be encouraged to get more involved in the electoral process.

“It is very important that we continue of engage more citizens in the democratic process, on every level,” Currie said. “Citizens volunteering, educating, lobbying; that’s absolutely necessary to democracy, and we need to see more of it.”

She said the Gainesville League of Women Voters is scheduled to meet at noon Sept. 11 in the Cooke County Library, to discuss upcoming changes to the Texas Constitution, reaching a consensus on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) and studying facts and issues so the group can reach a consensus on immigration in early 2008.

The League of Women Voters bills itself as a nonpartisan political organization that encourages informed and active participation in government with about 850 affiliates. Membership in the League is open to men and women of any age.

Reporter Andy Hogue may be contacted at andyhoguegdr@ntin.net