Election Results & A Letter from Our Founder
Updated: Dec 7, 2020
2020 Election Results
CAROL MAYER MARSHALL
November 11, 2020
Dear WIRE members and supporters, Everyone will agree that this has been an interesting election year and indeed historic in many ways. This is true not only at the federal level but here in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. We thought you might be interested in some of the results. First of all, there was record breaking turnouts in both counties:
Santa Clara received 715,000 votes which represented 86% of registered voters.
San Mateo received 343,594, or 77.6% of registered voters.
244 women and 281 men filed to run for the 525 non partisan seats up this year. While more men than women ran, women won in larger numbers than men. This year 67% of the 244 women won their seats. You can find a list of the women winners on our website, WIRE for Women, in the next couple of days once all of the results have been finalized. WIRE’s goal is to achieve gender equity in our two counties and I am happy to report that we are making great progress. As you are aware, WIRE is a nonpartisan organization that works only in nonpartisan races (City Councils, School Boards, and Special Districts). School Boards have for some time reached gender equity, but let’s examine the recent progress made among City Councils: After the 2016 election 40% of City Council seats were held by women, after the 2018 election this number increased to 48% and while not all races have been decided, it appears that in 2020 about 52% of the City Council seats in our two counties will be held by women. Special Districts are still predominately male, but WIRE plans to focus on this group in 2022. In summary, WIRE for Women and all of you who support women candidates have succeeded in just a few years in making great progress in achieving gender equity. We thank you for your continuing interest and support. Our focus in 2021 will be to increase the success of our Appointment Program and prepare for an even more successful Electoral Year in 2022. We ask for your help in marketing WIRE and in helping our recruitment efforts by encouraging women to run for office or to accept City or County Appointments. One of WIRE’s important objectives is to identify and train women so the pipeline to higher office is filled with qualified and experienced women. This is a role we take seriously and can be successful only with your continued support. Please feel free to contact me if you wish further information on any of these issues.
Carol
CAROL MAYER MARSHALL Founder & President Emeritus, WIRE for Women carol@wireforwomen.com P.S. All figures are still preliminary and final certification will not occur until early December.
