It’s hard to believe my involvement in media began around 1970.  I worked at a small town radio station where you did a little of everything…play music, program, music, do some sports, do some news….well, you get the idea.

We experienced a regular stream of politicians and political candidates making their way to the station looking for some free media exposure.  So, I often ended up greeting and sometimes interviewing these people from the political world of that era.

One thing that struck me was the lack of women in the political world of that time.  Their were some women in elective office, but there were just a handful them.

Fast forward to 2023, and you see a number of women on the political battleground.  The current Hamilton Southeastern School board consists of 6 women and 1 man.  Out of the 9 members of the Fishers City Council, 4 are women.

Republicans have controlled local government for some time in Fishers, so in the past, since I moved to Fishers in 1991, the women in local office tended to be Republican.  In the 2019 city election, 2 Democrats, both women, were elected to the City Council.

We are in the midst of another city election season and we see Democratic women preparing for their election campaigns through a program called Hoosier Women Forward.  Incumbent at-large City Council Member Jocelyn Vare is running for re-election and has touted her joining the program in a recent news release.

“I’m honored to be in the company of such diverse, impressive and committed women who share a vision to improve our local communities,” said Vare. “The results of this year’s primary election prove that political change is well underway in Fishers. We need more Democratic women to step forward to lead. Hoosier Women Forward is a training ground for those future leaders.”

Vare lists several women with Fishers connections that are or have been in this Hoosier Women Forward program:  Julie Chambers, former member and president of Hamilton Southeastern Schools Board of Trustees (Class of 2019-2020), Dayna Colbert, Hamilton County Democratic Party Chair (Class of 2020-2021), Freedom Kolb, executive director of The Milk Bank (Class of 2021-2022), Crystal Neumann, Fishers City Councilor for the North Central District (Class of 2022-2023), Meredith Fox, Hamilton County Democratic Party Communications Team Chair (Class of 2023-2024) and Representative Victoria Garcia Wilburn, Fishers Indiana State Representative (Class of 2021-2022).

We have a number of women, from both political parties, involved in our local politics.  In my view, that is a good thing.