The Opinion Blog

Get on the Ballot, Women

Sunday’s editorial encourages more women to consider runs for elected office:

A little over a year ago, as city, county and state leaders took their seats in a dimly lit ballroom at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center to discuss the issues affecting our area, one leader stood out. Among the 30 or so of the most powerful elected officials in the area, the only woman was Myrtle Beach City Councilwoman Susan Grissom Means.

Asked about her unique position, Means didn’t prevaricate. “This is ridiculous,” she said after last year’s meeting.

Congrats, Capt. Rhodes



Friday’s first editorial:

She’s not one of the good old boys. She’s not even a boy.

That change is reason enough for us to applaud the appointment of Capt. Saundra Rhodes to interim police chief of Horry County. But beyond the welcome shattering of the glass ceiling, the nearly universal esteem in which Rhodes is held is strong reason to recommend her for the job.

Run, Don't Balk



Do we need more women in local politics? Sunday’s editorial thinks so:

Looking around the meeting of Myrtle Beach City Council, Horry County Council and Horry County’s state legislative delegation on Monday, one thing soon became clear: Almost everybody looked the same.

Of the 30 people who make up those three governing bodies, two are black and just one was female. The rest? Twenty-seven middle-aged to older white guys. You read that correctly. Of the 30 elected officials who arguably wield the most power in the daily life of a Myrtle Beach resident, just one is a woman.

As that woman – City Councilwoman Susan Grissom Means – said this week, “I looked around on Monday and I thought, ‘This is ridiculous.’”

It's a Man's World

Looking around the meeting of city, county and state leaders at the members' joint meeting yesterday at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center, one of the most interesting things (at least to me) was how much most of the leaders looked the same.

If you live in the city of Myrtle Beach, you're represented by a group of 30 elected politicians who represent the city of Myrtle Beach, Horry County and the county in the state legislature. Just one of these -- City Councilwoman Susan Grissom Means -- is a woman. It's hardly an anomaly in this state. According to the Southeastern Institute for Women in Politics:

"South Carolina ranks 50th - last - in the nation in terms of women in public office. In the current Legislature, there were no women State Senators and 16 women members of the House of Representatives, meaning just 8.8% of the Legislature was female."

What do you think? Is this a problem? If so, do you think it's happening because women aren't running or because voters aren't choosing them? What could we do to change the status quo?

Teens, not Moms



Thursday’s editorial applauds a new initiative to combat teen pregnancy in Horry County:

Over the past decade Horry County, and South Carolina as a whole, has managed to reduce its rate of teenage pregnancy, particularly among younger teens. In 1997, 44.1 out of every 1,000 teenage girls in Horry County became pregnant. By 2007, that rate had dropped to 37.5 out of 1,000.

The rate is still too high, however, and now a new effort has begun to reduce that number even further. Last year, the S.C. Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy received a federal grant of nearly $1.5 million per year for the next five years, which will allow the campaign to expand its efforts in Horry and Spartanburg counties, two counties whose teen birth rates are higher than both the state and national averages.

Engendering controversy

Friday's editorial criticizes Liz Gilland for making a comment that, instead of promoting gender equality in Horry County government, likely will serve to hinder it.

The Sun News has long encouraged local leaders to follow the established good-governance practice of conducting a search outside the county's borders for high level vacancies.

In that light, we applauded Horry County Council Chairwoman Liz Gilland's decision to support such a search to find the next county administrator - especially given her own previous statements that highly qualified candidates for the job are already at work in Horry County government.

Our applause, however, came to an abrupt end with her shocking comment that "As far as I'm concerned I would not vote for a woman. From experience, I've seen the difficulty a woman has with a council of all men and how difficult it is to chair a council of all men."

Sex-harassment training trumps academic freedom

Ripped from the wires ... A University of California professor explains why he refuses sexual harassment training even though the state insists that he have it:

By Alexander McPherson

Four years ago, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Assembly Bill 1825 into law, requiring all California employers with more than 50 people to provide sexual harassment training for each of their employees. The University of California raised no objection and submitted to its authority.

But I didn't. I am a professor of molecular biology and biochemistry at the University of California, Irvine, and I have refused, on principle, to participate in the sexual harassment training that the state and my employers seem to think is so important.

Culture war flares up in Georgetown County

From the morning e-mail ... The Georgetown County GOP takes the Georgetown Democrats to task for their perceives support of same-sex marriage:

GEORGETOWN - A day after the Massachusetts legislature voted to repeal the state's 95 year old law preventing out of state gay and lesbian couples from marrying there, the Georgetown County Republican Party today blasted the county Democrat Party for advertising a website that promotes same-sex "marriage," a stand dramatically out of step with voters in a county and state in which 77 percent voted in favor of a 2006 state constitutional amendment protecting the definition of marriage as only between a man and woman.

Ms. Obama courts a key constituency: working women

From the afternoon e-mail ... The Obama campaign touts Michelle Obama's two-day working women listening tour in Michigan and Missouri -- both key swing states:

Chicago, IL  -- Michelle Obama visited with Michigan women Wednesday morning to hear about the challenges they face in juggling work and family commitments and keeping up with soaring costs and to discuss how Senator Obama's economic policies will provide real relief for women and families. Michelle has been hosting women's roundtables over the course of the campaign, helping to communicate Senator Obama's vision and share her perspective on his background and approach to making America more prosperous for everyone.

Michelle will meet with working women in Kansas City, Missouri on Thursday.

Hillary rejection infuriates women, bodes well for McCain

Ripped from the wires ... Froma Harrop explains why Barack Obama's nomination victory raises the hackles of white female Democrats -- and how that's good for John McCain:

By FROMA HARROP

The woman who shouted "McCain in '08'' at the Democratic rules committee [last weekend] was speaking for a multitude. After mounting for months, female anger over the choreographed dumping on Hillary Clinton and her supporters has exploded -- and party loyalty be damned. That the women are beginning to have a good time is an especially bad sign for Barack Obama's campaign.

"Obama will NOT get my vote, and one step more,'' Ellen Thorp, a 59-year-old flight attendant from Houston told me. "I have been a Democrat for 38 years. As of today, I am registering as an independent. Yee Haw!''