Nov 29, 2008 - 04:06:18 CST
The number of women elected to the North Dakota Legislature skyrocketed during the 1970s, from just three in 1969 to 20 in 1979.Fast forward 30 years to the 2009 session and the number of female legislators in North Dakota stands at 22, or 15.6 percent of the entire Legislature. That's down from 25 female lawmakers in 2007.
So why the plateau for a state that boasts the first female House speaker, Rep. Minnie Craig in 1933, and the nation's longest-serving female lawmaker, Rep. Brynhild Haugland, who spent 52 years in the North Dakota state Capitol?
Some say it's the pressures of raising a family. Others say it's hard to find women interested in entering the political arena.
"I guess those numbers have gone up and down over the years," said Sen. Karen Krebsbach, R-Minot, the longest-serving female lawmaker currently in the Legislature. "We just have to find a way to find them and get them involved."
North Dakota's Legislature still ranks among the states with the fewest women represented in the House and Senate. Nationally, women hold about 24 percent of the 7,382 legislative seats, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
New Hampshire became the first state in the nation this year to have a female majority in its Senate. At the same time, South Carolina's Legislature will have no female senators next session.
Katie Ziegler, coordinator of the NCSL's Women's Legislative Network, said the number of women serving in state houses has only increased by 4 percent in 15 years.
"To get more women into office we need more women running for office," Ziegler said.
Sarah Branion, a graduate student at the University of North Dakota who is studying women in North Dakota politics, said she has found that women are not groomed for politics as often as men.
"It's not that women are not elected," Branion said. "It's that women don't run as often as men in North Dakota."
Sen. Connie Triplett, D-Grand Forks, said that family pressures often discourages many women from entering the political arena - at least at the state level - which decreases the number of potential female candidates.
"It's a smaller pool because I think there are more of them who feel an obligation to stay close to their families," Triplett said. "But I don't think there's any gender bias in the electorate."
Triplett lost her first bid for the Legislature in 1984. A year later, she gave birth to her first child.
"I just put (running for the Legislature) out of my mind until my child was a senior in high school," Triplett said, who finally made it to the Legislature in 2003 to fill a vacant seat. She was elected to the Senate in 2004.
Triplett said another potential barrier for new faces in the state Capitol - including women - could be the power of incumbency in North Dakota, which favors Republican men.
Sixteen women ran as challengers in this year's election, with the Democrats putting up 14 of the candidates. While none were successful in unseating sitting lawmakers, two female Democratic candidates in Districts 6 and 10 vying for House seats came close enough to warrant demand recounts.
Republicans still have more women serving in the Legislature, 12 to the Democrats 10. Democrats and Republicans both had 13 female lawmakers in 1999 - the record high year for North Dakota female lawmakers.
The women leaving the Legislature from the 2007 session include Rep. Clara Sue Price, R-Minot, and Rep. Pam Gulleson, D-Rutland. Rep. Dawn Marie Charging, R-Garrison, resigned in March.
(Reach reporter Brian Duggan at 223-8482 or brian.duggan@bismarcktribune.com.)
Comments are reviewed for taste, tone and language before posting.
Some comments may be used in the Tribune's print edition.
We value and respect your privacy, but The Bismarck Tribune might
disclose certain information to governmental entities if served with subpoena.