Arizona might not be seen as a trailblazer in progressive politics, but, there is one area where some would say we excel in that arena: Women. Arizona has a long history of women in leadership — on both sides of the aisle.
From Govs. Rose Mofford and Jane Hull, to Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and our state’s longest-serving state legislator Polly Rosenbaum, women have long played an outsized role in Arizona’s politics.
Sue Gerard served in the state Legislature for more than a decade starting in the 1980s. She was around during the time of the so-called “Fab Five," when five women were elected to the state’s most important positions — from governor to superintendent.
But Gerard told The Show that she doesn’t think excelling in women's leadership led to significantly better policy in Arizona — or changed her own role in state governing.
But Jeanine L’Ecuyer, a long-time journalist and communications adviser in Arizona, sees it differently — from behind the scenes. Today, she’s chief of staff for strategic planning and communication for Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell.
But, she’s been involved with Arizona politics since she was a kid. Her mom ran for the state Legislature and her dad was chief of staff to an Arizona congressman. L’Ecuyer said what was happening in Arizona politics was dinner table conversation for them.
She spent much of her career working in local TV News, which was dominated by men then. So when she left news and went into politics, she's largely worked for women. Starting with former Gov. Janet Napolitano.
Full conversation
JEANIE L’ECUYER: I had met Janet Napolitano a couple of times and once was on Channel 8, as a matter of fact, the PBS station, and she said some things to me off camera that frankly were so appropriate and so inappropriate for air that I fell instantly in love with her.
So that was my entry. But what I've noticed in my own career since is and it could be because of the experiences I had in television news, which in some cases were quite ugly. I made a more conscious decision to be working with women who I saw as visionary leaders who are working on the kinds of things that I can get behind.
I do think it's important to say that I have never worked for somebody with whom I agreed 100% ever. But, the women that I like are the ones who are thoughtful and courageous and willing to step out based on their belief system.
LAUREN GILGER: So I want to back up then and talk a little bit more about the history of this in the state which you were kind of witnessing as you grew up here, it sounds like as well. When you think about women in Arizona politics, leaders in that realm from the history of this state, which isn't very long really, who do you think of?
L’ECUYER: My first encounter with a woman in politics, I probably was a very young teenager or a tween. My dad was working at the state Capitol and I got to meet Polly Rosenbaum, who even at that time, even though she served for quite a bit longer after I first met her, was already a legend.
I sort of fall into that camp of people who think that there's some pioneer, frontier, wild west sort of thing that goes on there, and Polly expressed this before she died, women weren't exempt from the work. You know, if you're running a ranch as did Justice O'Connor, if you are raising kids, whatever your vocation in life is, there's a lot of work that goes along with that. And that I think to me was an introduction to thinking differently about power in politics.
Women handle power differently than men, I believe. Now, there are probably some great scholars who can dispute me on that point, but I think women handle and manage power differently.
GILGER: I mean, obviously we've had lots of women in, in power in Arizona's history, but lots of women behind the scenes kind of wielding a lot of power as well which you've experienced.
L’ECUYER: Oh, absolutely. I mean, every candidate has some partner in their life. But I look at, for example, Bruce Babbitt, who I admired greatly, but the woman I always think about is Hattie Babbitt who was doing innumerable other things, in D.C. and here, to the benefit of Arizona, before, during and after, Bruce was in office. And there's just example after example, after example of that, some people are like me, they tend to be on the staff.
I used to aspire to run for office and then I realized what the personal sacrifice was going to look like, and it just was not something I wanted to have for myself, which also feeds into the great admiration I have for the women I've worked for, who saw that same equation and said, yeah, I am going to do it.
GILGER: Do you think it's harder for a woman? I mean, there's lots of talk obviously about in this current election cycle about, you know, having a woman running for president for the second time ever. And we see this when women run for office locally as well.
It's a lot of talk about style and clothing and hair and makeup and I think less so today that's become more taboo, but it's still there. Does that have any implications you think on how women conduct themselves and whether or not they want those offices?
L’ECUYER: I would answer that question two ways. The first way I would say is, I think what many of us have come to, is making a decision about the person and less gender-based. So I do see sort of an evening out in that regard, but you're right. It does happen to men too, but if a hair is out of place, if something doesn't fit quite right.
When I was on television, I would do investigations, I would put them on the air and then I would get calls, not email thank heaven that was not as big a thing back then, but I would get calls from people saying you, you'd be so much happier if you lost some weight or, you know, your hair looked funny, things like that.
When I thought I had just put on, you know, it would, it's a really good story that I worked on very hard for a very long time that happens to elected women constantly when you see the calls and emails and tweets and things that are directed at women in office. Some of it is just ugly.
Janet Napolitano back in the day, one of the things that she said to me, well, there were many wonderful things she said to me, but you know, she had a string of pearls that she wore most of the time. I don't know that she particularly liked pearls, but it cut off an avenue of questioning.
GILGER: Interesting. So, right, I want to ask you about Janet Napolitano and Rachel Mitchell, who you work for now, both very high powered women in the state with maybe similar attributes but also some very big differences. Notably, party. Tell us about looking back at the first woman you worked for in Arizona politics, right? And who you're working for now, do you see any through lines?
L’ECUYER: I do, I see more similarities than I see differences. What I see is two women who are brilliant, very accomplished lawyers. These are women who maintain an equilibrium. They maintain an equilibrium when they go about their jobs. Heaven knows that there probably is a private price that both of them have paid for choosing this kind of a very public life, but they don't show that to the world. And that, to me, is more important than party politics.
GILGER: I want to ask you about Arizona in this and why you think Arizona seems to be unique in this, in the sense that there have been more women in leadership roles here for longer than lots of other places in the country. I wonder what you think about Arizona's role in this? Why Arizona?
L’ECUYER: I, you know, I don't know why Arizona, but what I love about it is the fact that, you know, I mentioned Polly Rosenbaum, there were so many women that also saw that and were inspired to run for office even before. Again, I think it's some of that pioneer background. The women are just as tough as the men. They still had to handle a shotgun. They still had to be able to chase bad guys off their property, all that kind of stuff.
But what we have now is a situation in which women have seen other women in leadership positions, you know, I'm 66 years old. This has been true for my entire life, which is quite remarkable, I think and to stand here today and be able to say, “yeah, there's a bunch of women who have been in office in Arizona, have served well and we're always, you know, ride on the shoulders of those who came before us.”
So there's another group of women coming up now who are riding the shoulders. They may not ever have had the chance to meet Polly Rosenbaum. But, they're living with the reality of what she was a part of creating.
GILGER: So it's almost like this is a place where this is not even notable anymore and that means a lot.
L’ECUYER: It's tradition, right? It's become a tradition.
GILGER: So having watched this and recognized this tradition of women in leadership roles here in politics in our state for so long. Do you think it's made a difference? Do you think that because women have been in control, it's turned out differently?
L’ECUYER: I think women have been in the conversation, you know, the Rio Sola project, for example, you know, it's been 30 years and it may be another 30 years before it actually comes to fruition. But, there are a lot of women including Kate Gallego who are working very hard to make that happen.
Elaine Scruggs, gosh, even going back to Margaret Hance, they were in conversation about how transportation was going to unfold here in Arizona, but certainly in the valley in the immediate area around here. I think those issues have come to better resolutions that might have been possible, had only white men been in leadership in this state for the last, let's say 70 years. How different? I don't know, I don't think we'd be living in an apocalyptic sandstorm, but I do think, I think it would have been different.
