Harmony Wu
Since we’re always urging women to get involved politically, we thought it would be informative to share insights from a woman who is. Last week I sat down with Harmony Wu, a political activist in Needham, Massachusetts to find out what motivates her to do what she does.
I first heard of Wu when I worked on the Martha Coakley for U.S. Senate campaign. Volunteers at the phone bank I managed would come in every night and say, “You need to meet Harmony. You should really meet Harmony.”
Fast forward to the healthcare vote and our induction of Congressman Stephen Lynch into the Ignorant Male Legislator’s club. We posted a job opening for someone to take his place in the Ninth Congressional district; someone who would represent the district and lead with courage and integrity. Later that same day, we heard Harmony Wu was considering a run for the seat.
After some serious consideration, Wu decided not to run, posting this statement on her website:
Over the last two weeks, I have met with numerous people to address the many aspects of a potential campaign against Mr. Lynch. The ability to maintain my family life during the campaign and as a member of Congress has always been an important factor for me, as it has been for so many women seeking and serving in office. In my case, it prevents me from launching what would be a vigorous campaign and if elected, committing to a life that would require far too much time away from family at this moment in our lives. In the end, this is the decisive factor for me.
I admit I was slightly disappointed that Wu cited family life not just as a factor in her decision, but as a factor for other women considering political life. I understand family first. I do. And in her shoes I may have reached the same decision. I just don’t want to see all women painted with the same broad brush stroke. I don’t buy into the idea that maintaining and preserving the family unit is a woman’s job. I believe it is a parent’s job and should be based on the individual, not the gender. Just like running for office should be an individual decision, not a gender decision.
Fast forward again. I finally met Harmony Wu and she opened up about her decision-making process. And what she had to say about the prospects for women in politics is a fair and unsurprising commentary from someone who took a close look.
Wu wasn’t always politically active. But observing the Bush administration inspired her to get involved in the last presidential election. “I swore I would do everything in my power to do more,” she says and after the primary she volunteered for the Obama campaign with Organizing for America.
After the presidential election, Wu worked on a local Selectman’s campaign but wasn’t active on a day-to-day-basis. “Then Ted Kenendy passed away,” she says. And things in Massachusetts changed. Wu went from the Senate race to the race to fill Scott Brown’s State Senator seat. Both candidate’s she supported lost, but she wasn’t deterred.
In fact her energy and organizing skills attracted attention and Wu was drafted to run against Lynch. “I spent a lot of time exploring, talking to people. There was a lot of support and people telling me, ‘We’ll do what we can.’ But there were also people saying I wasn’t an insider, I had no experience and asking me if I could raise money.”
Wu says her ability to raise money was always the first question asked of her, although for her, the number one question was could she do the job. In the end, she determined that job, one that requires constant fundraising, was not for her.
I asked Wu if, based on what she saw up close, a woman could get elected in Massachusetts? “You know there’s a woman thing, but also a regular person thing,” she says. “Unless you’re on a path to be Guy Smiley from the day you’re born, it’s tough to break in. There’s a gate, a barrier. The lifestyle is different. It’s not family friendly.
“It’s the professionalizing of politics. You have to be in it — in training. It’s been made so unattractive. Massachusetts politics… it’s a tough club.”
Still, Wu believes there’s a “huge pent up desire” to see a woman elected, at least in the more progressive communities. And she is by no means backing down. She isn’t running for Congress but she is supporting Mac D’Alessandro in his primary bid against Lynch, tearing up the Twitter on the #mapoli hashtag and organizing her neighbors at Yes We Can Needham. Wu won’t hold an elected office any time soon, but she will hold those in office accountable. And if you’re a progressive woman looking to run, Wu’s probably got your back.
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Thanks for stopping by Bentley. There are so many barriers to entering politics and so we see the same recycled candidates over and over. Fortunately, there are some great organizations tackling these challenges like Women’s Campaign Forum and Emerge Massachusetts.
It isn’t family friendly — no political realm is. To run a real campaign and to hold office takes every waking minute. There isn’t much down time to hang with kids. My gripe is that men who have families don’t seem to have a problem — though, they too, lose precious family time. But the barrier to women in politics is greater than families. Many who have no children or whose children are grown still have real hurdles (like fundraising, being taken seriously, etc) that are greater than those men face. And I have to agree with Rosie, the ageism women face is much stronger too. It is rare for a man to be told he is too old to enter the political office.
Harmony, your comments underscore two major takeaways from our conversation 1.Women do carry unequal responsibilities and make unequal sacrifices related to child-rearing and family. 2. Citizens would be better served by “ordinary” people but we need to make the job more achievable and attractive for them. Thanks for the honest discussion.
Hello, Ladies! Thank you for the great conversation last week.
The question of women, families and politics is a big, loaded one. I wrestled with what and how much I wanted to say in my public statements about my decision process in deciding not to run.
As you point out, the “Family Question” isn’t only a woman’s question, and most men in politics have children. But as RosieRed suggests, the question for fathers in politics is much less fraught than it is for mothers, and the burden of how to successfully integrate family with career falls much more heavily, in our culture, on women.
I hoped to bring some attention to this issue, for I know it is a barrier to more women entering into the political arena. I want to be clear, however, that I by no means believe that the burden of family/parenting *should* rest more squarely on women than men.
I have been really pleased to see a new model of male politician emerging on the scene. 2009 MA Senate candidate Alan Khazei is father to young children, and he made family time and family involvement on the campaign trail a priority (and not simply as props in photo shoots). And this weekend, candidate for Congress, Mac D’Alessandro, attended organizing meetings with his young children, who played in the yard and ate snacks with my kids while Dad talked about immigration policy with volunteers and voters.
To see fathers bringing more of their personal/familial identities into their political life is, I believe, part of the vanguard of a slow process, one that will someday, I hope, make serving your community via elected office a better option for more parents, and particularly, more women, mothers.
As we push for gender parity in our elected representatives, I believe that we need to be frank about women’s unequal responsibilities and sacrifices as it relates to child-rearing and family. But we should also remember that in making serving in politics a more hospitable climate for women with families, we’d be doing us all a big favor… For dads are politicians too, and I truly believe that citizens are best served when “ordinary” people step up to elected office. I do not have answers to this complex and multi-layered issue, but I do know that talking about it is a good start, and I thank you for starting the conversation!
Thanks for weighing in Rosie. The double standard lives on.
I have a question for all of the ladies: Would you ever put the greater good’s needs ahead of your family’s? Is that ever the right choice?
“It’s not family friendly.”
I imagine not, especially on a national level, and probably for most state level offices, too. And it’s a huge rub, because if you’re single and running for office, you can get away with it some of the time, but at some point people are going to be whispering about why you’re “unmarried,” as they are with Elena Kagan. If you are married, and especially if you have kids, you’re going to get the “why aren’t you taking care of your family” schtick, much like Sarah Palin (and many other women in politics) does. Unless, of course, your kids are adults and out on their own, at which point you’re probably an “older” woman in society’s view, so then you’ll get to hear about how bad you look (Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, etc.).
Men politicians who have families: I have no doubt whatsoever that it’s hard for them, too. But we never seem to hear about that, and no one ever questions why they aren’t taking care of their kids, because politics is their job and job=provider=taking care of kids.
Anyway! Thanks Hello Ladies and Harmony Wu, for the insights.