{"id":8569,"date":"2011-10-16T21:48:45","date_gmt":"2011-10-17T03:48:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.boulderblueline.org\/?p=8569"},"modified":"2011-11-18T12:14:05","modified_gmt":"2011-11-18T19:14:05","slug":"endorsement-process-ignores-women-candidates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.boulderblueline.org\/?p=8569","title":{"rendered":"Endorsement Process Ignores Women Candidates"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Chamber of Commerce (photo by the author)<\/p><\/div>\n

With 16 days remaining until the votes are counted in Boulder\u2019s 2011 municipal election, the newspapers and major groups are mostly done with their much-anticipated endorsements of candidates and ballot issues.<\/p>\n

Each year, the talk among Boulder\u2019s politically charged activists runs the gamut from the obvious questions of who will endorse whom and when the endorsements will land, to pondering how each group makes their decisions and which alliances will play out with the voters.\u00a0 Guesses are made all around and there are always some surprises.<\/p>\n

This year, for the first time ever, the Boulder Chamber of Commerce issued endorsements in City Council elections. They endorsed a slate of four male business candidates: two incumbents, one repeat candidate, and a newcomer to politics.\u00a0 No surprise there except this happens to be a year when two women, Susan Osborne and Crystal Gray, who have each brought incredible depth and decades of knowledge to the council, have chosen not to run again.<\/p>\n

Employing a well-used move of not endorsing candidates for all five open seats, the Chamber flubbed by ignoring two capable women running for city council this year.\u00a0 The Chamber\u2019s failure to endorse even one woman seems particularly mystifying when you take a closer look at the two women running for council:<\/p>\n