From the book: "I didn't know I was going to be the first one. I
felt like I was really going to have to deliver. If I didn't
succeed, they were going to say, 'All Mexican American women are
failures.'" Texas Representative, Irma Rangel "There are not enough
women who have figured out how to balance [faith and family], how
to prioritize, but I believe that the younger women will make a
difference . . . that as they grow up professionally and
politically, that you will see more women in the ranks." State
Senator Judith Zaffirini "I think the expectations are higher
because there haven't been that many [Latinas in the Texas Senate]
and you are represent[ing] not just females, but an ethnic group
that has not always been afforded the opportunity to participate in
the political process." State Senator Leticia Van de Putte
In the decades since Latinas began to hold public office in the
United States in the late 1950s, they have blazed new trails in
public life, bringing fresh perspectives, leadership styles, and
policy agendas to the business of governing cities, counties,
states, and the nation. As of 2004, Latinas occupied 27.4 percent
of the more than 6,000 elected and appointed local, state, and
national positions filled by Hispanic officeholders. The greatest
number of these Latina officeholders reside in Texas, where nearly
six hundred women occupy posts from municipal offices, school
boards, and county offices to seats in the Texas House and
Senate.
In this book, five Latina political scientists profile the women
who have been the first Latinas to hold key elected and appointed
positions in Texas government. Through interviews with each woman
or her associates, the authorsexplore and theorize about Latina
officeholders' political socialization, decision to run for office
and obstacles overcome, leadership style, and representational
roles and advocacy. The profiles begin with Irma Rangel, the first
Latina elected to the Texas House of Representatives, and Judith
Zaffirini and Leticia Van de Putte, the only two Latinas to serve
in the Texas Senate. The authors also interview Lena Guerrero, the
first and only Latina to serve in a statewide office; judges Linda
Yanes, Alma Lopez, Elma Salinas Ender, Mary Roman, and Alicia
Chacon; mayors Blanca Sanchez Vela (Brownsville), Betty Flores
(Laredo), and Olivia Serna (Crystal City); and Latina city
councilwomen from San Antonio, El Paso, Dallas, Houston, and
Laredo.
General
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