Exciting New Feminist Legislators to Watch

by Lisa Alvy, Communications Intern

November 12, 2004

The 2004 elections were not all bad news. The election victories of three up-and-coming NOW PAC-endorsed candidates are definitely worth relishing. The list of newly elected members of the House of Representative includes Gwen Moore, D-Wis., Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., and Allyson Schwartz, D-Pa. — all proven feminist legislators at the state level.

NOW PAC sent organizing staff to work in all three of these states, while chapters provided volunteer reinforcements. Our grassroots efforts clearly paid off and now we can count on these winners to advocate for women's rights in Congress.

Gwen Moore - Wisconsin

Newly-elected member of Congress Gwen Moore at the March for Women's Lives

Gwen Moore, state senator from Wisconsin, is a strong proponent of women's rights and civil rights. At one time a single mother on welfare, Moore rose up from difficult circumstances to become the first African-American woman to serve in the Wisconsin State Senate.

While in the legislature, Moore fought courageously for women's issues. She led the movement to stem domestic violence by securing funding for domestic abuse prevention and intervention for refugee communities, working to pass the family violence exception to the most punitive welfare requirements, and promoting anti-stalking initiatives. Recognized as a national expert on issues of women and poverty, Moore also authored a state budget amendment to extend Medicaid coverage to women diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer, and has pushed for increased child care assistance for low-income families.

After a hotly contested primary, Moore won the general election by a landslide in Wisconsin's 4th Congressional District (located in Milwaukee) and will become the first African American woman ever elected to Congress from the state of Wisconsin. Moore promises to fight for job creation, improved health care and quality education.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz - Florida

State Senator and longtime NOW member Debbie Wasserman Schultz has built a strong record in support of women's rights, reproductive rights, LGBT rights, and children's issues in the Florida legislature.

She has been preparing for a congressional run ever since she worked as a legislative aide in the Florida House of Representatives. In 1992, at the age of 26, she was the youngest woman elected to the state legislature. During her tenure, Wasserman Schultz sponsored bills calling for equal gender representation on state boards and price parity for dry cleaning women's and men's clothing.

This November, Wasserman Schultz won with an overwhelming 70 percent of the vote in U. S. House District 20, which represents Broward and Miami-Dade counties.

Now 38 and one of the youngest members of Congress, Wasserman Schultz intends to use her position to help increase funding for health care and education and shrink the U.S. budget deficit. One of her most important long-term legislative goals is to secure health care coverage for every uninsured young person up to age 25. This issue is particularly close to her heart because Wasserman Schultz is the mother of three young children. With four-year-old twins and a baby daughter born in August 2003, Wasserman Schultz will be a very visible representative for working moms juggling job and family.

Allyson Schwartz - Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania State Senator and longtime NOW member Allyson Schwartz won open U.S. House District 13 seat (covering Northeast Philadelphia and eastern Montgomery County) in a four way race with 56 percent of the vote. Schwartz is a seasoned public servant with a strong legislative record.

Schwartz has always been very responsive to NOW members, attending many chapter and state events. In recognition of this support, the Philadelphia NOW members provided Schwartz with hundreds of hours of phone banking, canvassing and other volunteer work. In the closing days of the campaign, NOW volunteers even came from Maryland to knock on doors for Schwartz!

One of Schwartz's top priorities is women's health care. In 1975 she spearheaded the founding of Philadelphia's first women's health center, the Elizabeth Blackwell Center, of which she served as Executive Director until 1988. As a Pennsylvania state senator, she authored legislation that established quality standards for mammograms and required insurance companies to cover important women's health services.

Schwartz also fought for a nationally recognized model training initiative for medical personnel to recognize and address domestic violence, and authored an innovative college loan forgiveness program for child care workers.

These women will continue to be strong NOW allies in the years to come. Let's applaud their victories and support them in the hard work ahead of them in the 109th Congress.