Honoring Women's History: Betsy McConnell

My grandmother, Betsy McConnell, is the first woman I would like to honor this Women's History Month. When I was born, she didn’t feel old enough to be called “grandma,” so she and my mom picked the Dutch “Oma.” It was a nod to their days living in Holland when my mom and her siblings were little, during my grandfather’s tenure as a research pathologist there. Decades later, when I would move to Norway with my own two small children to research the Norwegian prosecution system, Oma would draw on that same experience to talk me through some of my hardest days as a single mom living in a foreign country.?

Today, my 88 year-old grandmother is a super volunteer on my grassroots campaign. At first, she told me she didn’t have any experience in politics and so she wasn’t sure she could help. I reminded her of the 25 years she spent managing a team for the Girl Scouts Mile High Council, her longtime work with groups like Old Lesbians Organizing for Change, and the time that she rode her bike the 3000+ miles from San Diego, CA, to St. Augustine, FL, for her 70th birthday.?

Fast forward: she spends most days now traversing the city, collecting petition signatures from just about everyone she’s ever met, delivering yard signs, and carrying my message of a fair and equal justice system far and wide.?

A couple of weeks ago, I accompanied Oma to a petition signature gathering party that she’d organized at one of her friend’s houses. I watched the two of them reminisce about the bond their sons had formed in junior high, and that continues to this day. I stared at these titans in awe, imagining the sheer breadth of joy, grief, and everything in between that each of them must have experienced over all these decades. The collective strength in the room was striking.?

As we drove away from her friend’s house, Oma told me she hadn’t seen her in probably fifteen years, and they hadn’t been particularly close for over a decade before that. “Oh, wow,” I said. She offered: “When I came out [of the closet], I was afraid my friends that I’d made when I was married to your grandfather would reject me, so I didn’t stay that close with many of them.”?

I asked her whether all this work she’s doing on my campaign, which involves reconnecting with essentially everyone she’s known in Denver for the past six decades, is reminding her how much people love her. She paused for a moment and said, “Well, yeah. Especially the number of people who tell me that if my granddaughter is anything like me, she’s got their vote.”?

There are so many reasons people say to my grandmother that if I’m anything like her, I have their vote: she’s exceptionally ethical and honest; hardworking; dauntless; competitive; humanitarian; adventurous; athletic; fastidious; handy; and a leader. That she’s willing to revisit decades-old fears in order to get me elected, though, reminds me of my favorite reason: she’s so incredibly brave.