The Buzz
May 19, 2021
New Rutgers Survey Shows How Few Ohio Women Hold Municipal Office; Matriots Working To Counteract Those Numbers
Women running for EVERY non-judicial office in Ohio have a new opportunity to get endorsed by The Matriots PAC, which comes just in time to deal head-on with new research published over the weekend.
A new study from Rutgers University, shows that Ohio women make up just 26.5% of elected mayor and council positions in the state’s 237 incorporated communities with populations over 10,000 – putting the state at No. 39.
The Matriots own original research tallies all of the nearly 18,000 elected seats in Ohio and finds that women hold 29% of all offices at all population sizes. Women show the most strength at the school board level.
The Matriots, founded in 2017 and participating in its fourth election cycle in 2021, is for the first time endorsing women in every kind of non-judicial race up and down the ballot. No township or village candidate is ineligible in 2021.
“Now that the population cap has been removed, we are hoping more women will seek our endorsement as they run for election this year”, said Kim Croffoot-Suede, interim executive director of The Matriots. “Our goal is to have women comprise 50% of elected officials in Ohio by 2028. We encourage new candidates to run and support incumbent women.”
The Matriots is nonpartisan, and has endorsed Democrats and Republicans, as well as independents, Greens and Libertarians. They make endorsements of women candidates through a shared-values lens of backing candidates who will priorities economic stability for women across Ohio.
Given the realities of women serving in elected Ohio office, The Matriots PAC is hoping to increase this number by endorsing in more races. For the first time in 2021, every woman in Ohio running for office who share the Matriots values can apply for endorsement. The Matriots does NOT endorse in judicial elections except at the Ohio Supreme Court level.
The Matriots PAC endorses women across the entire state of Ohio who share our values, regardless of political party. We analyze campaigns, find competitive races, and endorse women who have what it takes to run and win elected office in Ohio.
The next deadline to file an application to be endorsed by the Matriots is June 1, 2021; and a final deadline for General Election candidates is August 13, 2021. Endorsements and investments made by the Matriots often make the winning difference, as we watch for competitive races and make additional investments in the campaigns.
Research shows that women candidates receive less money than men. The Matriots invest early in our endorsed candidates, because women need the capital to fund their campaigns and make a strong impact in their race.
When the Matriots PAC was founded in 2017, only 22% of elected officials in the General Assembly were women. After the 2020 election, women now make up 31.8%. From the Matriots contributions, volunteering, membership, and endorsements, we play a direct role in getting women elected at every level of government in Ohio.
