When Vanessa Fleisch took her seat in the Peachtree City mayor’s chair at Thursday’s City Council meeting, she also claimed a spot in Fayette County history: the first woman elected to that office.
Beside her was Kim Learnard, who was re-elected in 2013 and named mayor pro tem in January. It’s the first time two women have held the top spots in Peachtree City government.
Since 1974, only eight other women have served on the Peachtree City council. That Fleisch is the first female mayor in all these years underscores the underrepresentation of women in Fayette County politics in general, and raises questions about the role of women in local leadership.
The statistics on the larger county level aren’t any better. Only three women have served on the Fayette County Board of Commissioners since 1938, and none since 2008.
The Board of Education has had only six female members since 1988, even though women represent the majority of the teacher population.
Two women now serve on Tyrone’s town council, one as mayor pro tem. Only one woman has served on Fayetteville’s City Council, and never as mayor. In Brooks and Woolsey, the current mayors and town council members are all male.
It’s not a very balanced picture given that women are 51 percent of the county population and (as of 2007) own 30 percent of local businesses.
I sat down with Fleisch and Learnard last week to get their thoughts on the subject.
“It’s amazing to me that there have been so few,” Fleisch said. “You would have thought it would be more by now.” However, she said she thinks political differences were a greater factor than gender in her victory.
Likewise, Learnard credits “qualifications and a positive attitude” for the support that got her re-elected (versus another female candidate who happened to be the outgoing mayor’s wife).
Both women said they got encouragement from female voters and didn’t sense any gender-based negativity. And both noted that being female has advantages for public office. Unlike some of their retired male counterparts, both have jobs in addition to government duties.
“We’re both skilled at juggling a busy calendar,” Fleisch said. Learnard agreed: “We have the multitasking skills it takes to do a good job.”
In a county where it’s not uncommon for candidates to run unopposed, why the lack of female faces in these races?
Fleisch suggested that perhaps it’s a “stage of life” issue that keeps busy parents from taking on the added demands of public office. Another factor could be that women don’t appreciate what they have to offer. “It’s easier to run if you just think about the qualities [you have] or the things you do for your kids,” she said. “I think women tend to discount that.”
Fayette County has political organizations dedicated to women of both parties. The Greater Fayette Republican Women’s Club and Fayette Democratic Women meet regularly, but are they cultivating candidates?
“We need to keep reminding younger women that these opportunities are out there,” Learnard said. “The trend is changing, but we need to keep making it change.”
We’ll see if the next round of elections bears that out.
Jill Howard Church has lived in Fayette County since 1994. Reach her at jillptcblog@aol.com.
