Emerge America gives women a 'voice' in politics

Even as the recent primaries ushered in a new set of faces into the world of politics, a group of determined Bay Area women - many of them local community leaders - are working to equip other women to make a difference by running for office.

Emerge California, a branch of the national democratic women's group Emerge America, is a San-Francisco based nonprofit organization and political training program whose goals are to inspire and prepare more women to pursue positions in government and to increase the number of Democratic women in office.  Since its inception, it has trained about 500 women, 40 percent of which have run for or been appointed to positions of office.

The group celebrated their eighth year in San Francisco with their sixth annual fundraiser on June 17, featuring former independent gubernatorial candidate Arianna Huffington and honoring co-founder Andrea Dew Steele as the 2010 Woman of the Year. The event, attended by about 400 people, showcased the program's achievements in recruiting and training women for political positions.

"We're passionate about seeing representation [from women] in the local, state and federal government, and to see the face of politics change by having women in all those levels," said Gretchen Schoenstein, co-founder of Emerge California and interim executive director of Emerge America. "We hope that people will see that women have a seat at the decision-making table, the agenda will change."

Through a seven-month training program, Emerge members undergo a series of weekend classes and workshops that train and equip them for positions of office.

Schoenstein said that the Emerge program has three components: the first is to equip women with skills and tools necessary for public office; the second, to partner them up with existing elected officials for mentorship; and the third, to create a strong network for its members, reaching out to alumni and gathering community support.

"We want to create that support because once you get your foot in the door, it's a little bit easier to make it to the next level," Schoenstein said.

Some of the workshops and classes include fundraising, networking, public speaking and ethics - all the "nitty gritty" of running a campaign. These are taught by trainers and facilitators from a variety of community organizations in the Bay Area.

"Politics still comes down to who can run the best campaign and communicate their message effectively," said co-founder Andrea Dew Steele. The national organization was founded in 2002 and has since spread to nine states, including Arizona, Maine and Nevada.

The community support is also a key factor to Emerge's recruitment of members, as alumni who win positions of office serve as ambassadors for the group, looking through their communities for qualified women - usually exemplary volunteers or community leaders - to go through the program. Labor unions, democratic organizations and other local social or political groups help draw worthy candidates to the program.

Among these leaders are San Pablo City Councilwoman Cecilia Valdez, who started as a co-founder of the Latina/o Democratic Club of West Contra Costa County, and Darleen Brooks, civil rights officer for the Alameda County Social Services Agency, who began as an Oakland activist working closely with council members.

Schoenstein and co-founder Steele were motivated to establish Emerge California in 2002, at a time when only two out of San Francisco's 11 supervisors were women and after doing extensive research on the number of women in politics.

Eight years later, even when more women have entered politics in both the city and the state, and many others appointed to city councils and school boards, Schoenstein said she believes California still has a long way to go, with women making up only 28 percent of the state legislature.

"It's hard to believe San Francisco has only had one woman mayor, and we're supposed to be one of the most progressive cities in the world," Schoenstein said.

She added that the public's common misconception is that women don't get as many votes, when in a reality, female candidates have the same chances of winning as their male counterparts. "But the problem is, we don't have as many women [candidates] to choose from," she said.

The organization's goal is to expand to three more states by 2012, and eventually reach every state.

"I have faith that when that happens, our communities will thrive in a way that they couldn't without these women," Schoenstein said.