Former Operatives Launch ‘Electable,’ an Online Community Aimed at Electing More Women in Rural States

Electable offers community, resources for women who want to run, win, and lead in local office

Women running for office at any level often face the challenge of electability. That's why Dr. Christina Barsky and I teamed up to form a new online community aimed at training more women on how to run and win local public office. 

“We’re fed up with the double bind that keeps too many highly qualified women from running for office, or leads them to self-select out of the political process,” says Barsky, co-founder of Electable and an assistant professor of public policy in Missoula, Montana. “The events of the past several months have shown us all that America needs to build a bench, and that starts at the local level.”

I don't have a Ph.D., but I was the first openly queer person to serve on the Missoula City Council from 2012-2015. I've also served as communications director on numerous issue advocacy and electoral campaigns, including during Boise's mayoral runoff election last year, where we elected the city's first female executive. Barsky and I met while working at competing public affairs firm and became friends through our board service to the Women’s Foundation of Montana. 

Electable soft-launched in May and we have more than 50 founding members, including several past candidates for Congress, governor, mayor and legislature. This week, we hosted three webinars titled: “Electability is Bullshit and Other Lies that Keep Women from Running for Office.” If you missed the first two, you can still catch one more later Saturday morning at 11 a.m. MST.

Registration is required: https://electable.mykajabi.com/live-launch-webinar/

Electable is a community dedicated to getting more women to run, win, and lead in local public office. Follow on Instagram @electablewomen.