Message From Kirsten Gillibrand

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From: Kirsten Gillibrand
Subject: five women
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Here are some sad statistics:

• I am one of just 17 women in the Senate.
• Just 17% of all members of Congress are women.
• There are currently only six women governors in the US today.
• Fewer than 25% of state legislature seats are filled by women.

These are trends we absolutely must reverse. That is why I created Off The Sidelines, to mobilize women and make their voices heard. The best way to make sure our values are represented is if we run and win.

That's what I did in ’06 and what Kathy Hochul did this year. And that's what five strong Democratic women are doing in the Wisconsin recall elections against Scott Walker's allies next Tuesday – just four days away.

Five amazing women need your immediate support in the final hours to win on Tuesday. It’s time to get off the sidelines.

Click here to rush a contribution to these five extraordinary women on ActBlue. They’re fighting back in Wisconsin, and it’s time for us to get off the sidelines and win.

I couldn’t be more pleased that out of the six recall elections against Republicans in Wisconsin next week, five of the Democratic candidates are women. If they all win, the percentage of the Wisconsin state senate that are women will rise from around 25% to a third. That is the very essence of getting off the sidelines.

If you're not familiar with these women, please take a moment to get to know them below:

Nancy Nusbaum, former President of Wisconsin NARAL and former Mayor of DePere, WI, is running against Rob Cowles in WI-SD-02.

Sandy Pasch, a member of the Wisconsin state Assembly since 2008, is running against Alberta Darling in WI-SD-08.

Shelly Moore, a former high school teacher who was elected to the National Education Association (NEA) Board of Directors in 2005, is running against Sheila Harsdorf in WI-SD-10.

Jessica King, Deputy Mayor of Oshkosh, WI, is running against Randy Hopper in WI-SD-18.

Jennifer Shilling, a Wisconsin State Assemblywoman since 2000, is running against Dan Kapanke in WI-SD-32.

With under a week until the recall elections, now is the time to contribute whatever you can to these five excellent candidates. Not only will your support help ensure that Democrats retake the Wisconsin State Senate and block Governor Walker's extreme agenda, but it will increase the representation of women in Wisconsin government.

I truly hope that in 2012, we will see a resurgence in women's participation at all levels of public life. Let's kickstart that resurgence this year by helping to elect these five women to the state Senate in Wisconsin.

Kirsten

P.S. And if you’d like to support my effort to mobilize women, please sign up with my campaign at http://OffTheSidelines.org and "Like" the Facebook page at http://facebook.com/offthesidelineskg.