Nevada remains in top 10 for states with the most female legislators

Kirsten Searer

Monday, Dec. 27, 2004 | 11:17 a.m.

Nevada ranks in the top 10 in the nation for the number of female legislators it elected this year, according to a new study by the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.

The state had hovered among the top five states for several years -- peaking at No. 2 in 1999 -- but the number of female legislators slipped to 18 after the 2002 elections.

This year, however, 21 female legislators will serve in the 2005 legislative session, meaning 33.3 percent of the state's legislators are women.

The state Senate lost one woman with the defeat of Sen. Ann O'Connell, R-Las Vegas, in the Republican primary.

Six new women will join the ranks of the Assembly, but women picked up a net of four seats because one open seat already was held by a woman and another open seat previously held by a woman was picked up by a man.

The new female Assemblywomen will be: Francis Allen, R-Las Vegas; Heidi Gansert, R-Reno; Susan Gerhardt, D-Henderson; Marilyn Kirkpatrick, D-North Las Vegas; Bonnie Parnell, D-Carson City; and Debbie Smith; D-Sparks.

While Sen. Barbara Cegavske, R-Las Vegas, said women can be the most determined and committed campaigners, she also said women with families can be reluctant to run, especially if they have small children.

The Legislature needs more women and minorities to bring a different perspective, said Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas. She said the Democratic Party needs to do a better job of fielding candidates who normally couldn't afford to run for office.

Single mothers, for example, couldn't handle the Legislature's small paychecks, Giunchigliani said.

And Sen. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, said young women also worry about whether or not they will be taken seriously.

The 27-year-old Allen works as a copywriter and was known as one of the political season's hardest-working candidates. She said her youth was "my greatest asset and also my greatest hindrance."

While some might have wondered if she were old enough for the job, her youth "gives me the energy and the passion of a 27-year-old," she said.

"I definitely believe that I see the world through a different set of eyes, not only as a 27-year-old, not only as a female but I'm also Korean," she said.

Veteran female legislators say they've seen strides in women serving in leadership posts but still encounter a good ol' boys network in Carson City.

Titus, who is hardly known as a wallflower in political circles, said she has to work harder to insert herself into important backroom conversations that typically involve male legislators and lobbyists.

"When they go out at night they don't want you to go with them, they want to smoke cigars and hang out," Titus said.

Cegavske said she's also seen women overcompensate, possibly because they feel they have to assert themselves in the Legislature.

"Sometimes women feel they have to be aggressive to be considered a player," she said.

Still, women hold several leadership positions in the Legislature. Besides Titus, Assemblywoman Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, serves as Assembly majority leader and Giunchigliani will serve as speaker pro temp.

Four of the 10 standing committees in the Assembly will be headed by a woman this year, while only one of the nine standing committees in the Senate will be headed by a woman -- Cegavske will act as chairwoman of the Legislative Operations and Elections Committee.

Nationally, the number of female legislators remained about the same as last year, with women representing about 22.5 percent of all state legislators. Maryland and Colorado elected the most women -- 34 percent of their state legislatures are female.