Lone female in mayoral race decries pol. inequality

Declaring that women are "sorely unrepresented" in Pennsylvania politics, at-large City Councilwoman Happy Fernandez spoke Tuesday evening in the Sweeten Alumni Center on the subject of "Women and Politics." A Democrat first elected in 1991, Fernandez addressed about 30 members of Penn's Association of Alumnae, which represents female graduates of all the University's schools. Fernandez, 59, was selected to speak primarily because she is running for mayor in 1999, the first woman from a major party ever to do so in Philadelphia. Fernandez, who received her master's degree in American History from Penn in 1970 and was a professor at Temple University before being elected to Council, emphasized in her speech that there is still a gender gap in the political world -- especially in Pennsylvania. "We need to see how far we've come and how far we haven't come," she said. "We still have a long way to go." She also pointed out that Pennsylvania has never had a female U.S. senator and that Philadelphia has never had a female mayor. "Things will not change for women in politics unless women are willing to step up," she said. "It won't happen if we all say 'somebody else can do it.'" Departing from the theme of women in politics, Fernandez went on to discuss with the audience what she would do as the next mayor of Philadelphia. Topics ranged from campaign finance reform -- which she supports -- to street graffiti, which she has tried to fight through various legislative measures. She noted that Penn, like all other colleges in the area, "is very, very important" to Philadelphia. "Our city government has not recognized how important they [Philadelphia's colleges] are," Fernandez added. "We would not have treated a Fortune 500 company like we treated Penn" on certain occasions, she explained. Audience reaction to the speech was very positive. "She was very comprehensive and very willing to share her personal thoughts about key issues," said Binnie Donald, a 1961 graduate of the College of Education and former president of the association. "I liked her." "I think there should be more women in government. Eight [female] senators is not enough," said College sophomore Elizabeth Richman, in reference to a statistic mentioned by Fernandez. There are, in fact, nine female senators in the current Congress, and that number did not change in the November elections. Richman and College senior Rachael Goldfarb, both of whom help to organize the Women In Leadership Series of monthly speakers, were the only two undergraduates to attend the speech. "I'm very excited that? Happy Fernandez has decided to run for mayor," Goldfarb said. "It demonstrates that women have the opportunity" to succeed in politics, she added. Fernandez was excited too. "If I'm elected mayor we will not only have women represented at the table," she said, smiling. "We will be setting the table."