Steve Flowers: Women in Alabama politics
It is hard to imagine that it was only a little over 100 years ago that women were given the right to vote in the United States. The 19th Amendment to the Constitution, giving women full suffrage, was finally ratified in 1920. In recent decades, many folks have lamented that there are very few women in elected office in Alabama, especially in the legislature. We do indeed have a low percentage of female legislators, most particularly in the Republican ranks. We have some high-profile female statewide officeholders. Governor Kay Ivey, PSC President Twinkle Cavanaugh, and Supreme Court Justices Kelli Wise and Sarah Stewart, to name a few. Some of the more progressive states have ridiculed our lack of female political participants. However, history will reveal that we in Alabama were electing women to statewide offices many years before other so-called progressive states. In fact, women dominated the offices of Secretary of State, State Treasurer, and State Auditor for several decades during the 1960s and 1970s. My first observations of Alabama politics were watching women swap out the State Treasurer and Secretary of State posts every four years. In fact, these constitutional offices were considered women offices. In 1944, Governor Chauncey Sparks appointed Sybil Pool as Secretary of State. Two years later, in 1946, Pool won the office overwhelmingly and became the first woman in Alabama history to be elected to a statewide office. In that 1946 race, Pool carried 63 out of 67 counties. Four years later, in her victorious run for State Treasurer, she received the largest vote in state history. In 1954, she was elected to the first of four terms on the Public Service Commission. Prior to Pool’s first statewide victory, she had served in the legislature for two terms from her native Marengo County. She was only the second woman elected to the Alabama Legislature, in addition to being the first woman elected statewide. All-in-all, her political career included eight years as Secretary of State, four years as State Treasurer, and 16 years on the State Public Service Commission. Sibyl Pool was way ahead of her time, and she opened the political door for women to walk through in Alabama. Mary Texas Hurt Garner of Scottsboro was a lawyer by profession and an Assistant Attorney General before being elected Secretary of State in 1954. She then went on to become State Auditor in 1958. She was elected State Treasurer in 1962. Annie Laura Gunter held several prominent cabinet positions in the Wallace Administration. Afterward, Gunter was elected State Treasurer of Alabama in 1978 and served eight years in that important state office. Melba Till Allen was one of 10 children who grew up modestly on an Alabama farm. She rose to be elected as State Auditor and then was elected State Treasurer for two terms. Mabel Amos and Agnes Baggett were household names in Alabama for decades. Agnes Baggett was probably the most prominent and profiled female officeholder in state history after Sybil Pool. She served as Secretary of State from 1951-1955. She was then elected State Auditor in 1955, State Treasurer in 1959, and returned to Secretary of State in 1963. In 1967, she was elected again as State Treasurer and served eight years in this post. She finished out her career as Secretary of State, thus capping a career that made history. She served 28 consecutive years as an elected statewide officeholder, making her one of the most celebrated elected officials in Alabama history. Mabel Amos was one of the most beloved and revered women in state politics. She had an amazing career as the recording secretary for six governors, including Frank Dixon, Chauncey Sparks, James Folsom, Gordon Persons, John Patterson, and George Wallace. There is no telling what secrets and political deals Ms. Mabel knew of during this unbelievable 30-year reign inside the governor’s office. She was elected Secretary of State in 1966 and served eight years in that office. She was a native of Conecuh County and never married. Therefore, she had no direct heirs. When she died, she had a sizeable estate, primarily of family land. Because she had no children, the beloved lady left her estate with instructions that her money should be used for deserving Alabama female students who otherwise would not be able to attend Alabama colleges. See you next week. Steve Flowers is Alabama’s leading political columnist. His weekly column appears in over 60 Alabama newspapers. He served 16 years in the state legislature. Steve may be reached at www.steveflowers.us.
Steve Flowers: Honest, diligent women make their mark in Alabama politics
Hillary Clinton’s failure to break the proverbial glass ceiling in American politics came up a little short. More than 100 men have been nominated for president by the nation’s political parties over the past 220 years. She was the first female to be the nominee of one of the two major parties. After Hillary became the Democratic nominee last year, former Colorado Congresswoman Patricia Schroeder, who ran for president in 1988, said it best, “It’s been the ultimate tree house with a no girls allowed sign posted on it.” Nevertheless, national studies have indicated that women still face a double standard when it comes to political campaigns. These surveys reveal that voters will support a male candidate they do not like if they believe he is qualified. However, they are less likely to support a female candidate they think is qualified unless they also like her. Therefore, it appears that for women candidates, likeability is intrinsically linked to electability. However, when it comes to honesty and trustworthiness women have an enormous advantage. Voters simply trust women more than men. A study done by the respected Pew Research Center Poll revealed that 31 percent said women were more honest and ethical than men. Amazingly only 3 percent said men were more honest and ethical. I have observed and stated that same opinion for years. My observation when I was in the Legislature was that women legislators were more honest, forthright and more diligent in their duties. Other political experts have espoused this same belief, especially, when it comes to Alabama’s politics. In the 1990s, the nation’s business community brought the political guru, Karl Rove, to Alabama to help elect a pro-business state supreme court. He was successful in his endeavor. As he departed the state he left an emphatic statement, “If you want to hold the court in Republican pro-business hands, the best candidate is a conservative female Republican, preferably one who has experience as a Circuit Judge.” Voters simply trust women more and especially for judgeships. We now have a record number of women on our State Supreme Court and Courts of Appeals. There is no question that women in Alabama have an inherent advantage on the ballot in state judicial and secondary statewide races. If you put the name John Doe on a ballot against Jane Doe in Alabama and neither does any advertising and voters simply show up and vote in a secondary statewide race, Jane Doe will win every time. However, a survey conducted by the Center for Women and Politics at Rutgers University ranks Alabama 46th in the nation for women serving in the legislature. We are indeed inexplicably underrepresented by women in the State House and Senate. Although today we have numerous ladies in statewide office. Kelli Wise and Lyn Stuart are premier justices on the state Supreme Court. Judges Beth Kellum and Mary Windom serve with distinction on the State Court of Criminal Appeals. Judge Terri Thomas of Cullman is outstanding on the State Court of Civil Appeals. Kay Ivey is our Lieutenant Governor and Twinkle Cavanaugh serves as President of the Public Service Commission. In the course of history, it has not been that long that women were given the right to vote. The 19th Amendment to the Constitution gave women suffrage. Alabama’s legislature voted to ratify the 19th Amendment in 1953. However, women began to be elected statewide in Alabama long before other so-called progressive states. Beginning in the 1950s women dominated the offices of Secretary of State, State Auditor, and State Treasurer to such an extent that they became known as “the ladies’ offices.” The first woman elected to a statewide office was Sybil Poole who won the Secretary of State office in 1946. She was soon followed by the legendary Agnes Baggett and then Mary Texas Hurt Garner and Melba Till Allen. These women would simply swap the posts of Secretary of State and State Treasurer after their term limits. By the time Lurleen Wallace became the first female governor in 1967, women held almost half of Alabama’s constitutional offices. It may be time for another female governor. Twinkle Cavanaugh or Kay Ivey or someone else may make the leap. We will see. See you next week. ___ Steve Flowers is Alabama’s leading political columnist. His weekly column appears in over 60 Alabama newspapers. He served 16 years in the state Legislature. Steve may be reached at www.steveflowers.us.
