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Most powerful woman in PA?
Submitted by Ray Murphy on Mon, 10/12/2009 - 10:11am.
As we approach another major statewide election (governor) without a single woman in the race, today's Daily News coverage of perhaps the most important woman in Pennsylvania politics today is worth a read.
Check out the profile on Donna Cooper here.
Not only is Ms. Cooper a woman in politics, a topic which should be of interest to readers of this blog, she is also someone Philadelphia's progressive community can claim as one of its own. She put education funding equity on the campaign map back in 2002. And though we're not where we want to be when it comes to fully funding public schools, she has certainly done a lot to get us as far as we are.
There have always been wistful rumors about Cooper's local electoral plans. But even without being elected, Cooper wields a lot of power. And it'll be interesting to see what she does post-Harrisburg.
I worked with her a bit
during the effort to pass Governor Rendell's health care plan.
She's great. Knows the policy and politics inside and out. And is passionate about accomplishing things.
And despite all the sexist criticism of her being too aggressive and opinionated, I found that she is able to listen for and recognize good ideas that comes from outside her own shop and try to move them forward.
Speaking of sexist
Davies piece is far better than the job the Inky did on its profile over the summer which all but ignored her accomplishments while focusing on the petulant responses from Harrisbug's bruised male ego camp.
I'm a Donna Cooper fan
And she's deserving of an editorial that acknowledges and celebrates her considerable and formidable skills and intelligence and her passion. I have no doubt that Ed Rendell is committed to education, but he wouldn't have gotten the funding formula through for the past two years without relentless lobbying and pushing from Donna. Period.
Donna is one of a group of women at the state level whom Rendell has promoted. Other women I've been impressed with are other super smart and passionate Philadelphians too like Estelle Richman, former Managing Director and currently Secretary of Public Welfare. She's been doing her best to stem the continuing decline of investment in social services. And Diane Castelbuono, Asst. Secty of Education, who is twice as smart as her immediate boss - for that matter any of her previous bosses, including Paul Vallas.
What's most encouraging about this article is Rendell's willingness to nurture leadership in women like Donna Cooper, who came to Harrisburg with a strong connection to progressive politics, strong opinions, and who certainly wasn't going to be anyone's company man.
Donna was a force of nature in Harrisburg. She deserves a strong role at the city level should she choose to bring her gifts here.
Good post, Ray
wish I thought of it myself. ;)
Great minds think alike, I think.
RE: the title. I'm just glad its not Sen. Jane Orie, who though debatebly not the absolute worst is far from one of the best. Her stance on protections against job and housing discrimination for gays and lesbians, for example, is vaguely reminiscent of Anita Bryant. Its not a rule that all women in politics embody progressive principles, I guess.
-Sean
MrLuigi, my cat, actually only types half as badly as I do.
This is certainly more fair and balanced
than the last piece on Donna. Women in politics in Pennsylvania are usually immediately dismissed as overly aggressive and opinionated. Why? Because they are women who have opinions and don't keep them to themselves. For all our progressive steps, PA has a long way to go in seeing women as equals in what is still largely an old boys network. Perhaps this is one step in the right direction.
I, too, have met with Donna. I found her friendly and intelligent. Still, maybe being a woman in PA politics, I can see past the usual labels for a woman in a position of power who opens her mouth to say something.
Rendell, Kennedy, and Women
Helen makes a really good point about Rendell and his support of strong women in this administration.
Give Rendell's reputation, it reminded of a wonderful thing an SEIU friend of mine, Lisa Frank wrote when Ted Kennedy died
"My mother wasn't big on formal parental teaching -- no birds and bees, no graduation speeches. But she did sit me down to tell me that I should always vote for Ted Kennedy, that I should never meet him for a drink, and that I should have the political sense to know that these two rules were perfectly consistent. The world should have more Massachusetts liberals."
Donna is the bee's knees
And that's really all the more I have to say about that. Even if I don't always agree with her/Rendell, she's still super fun to work with.
I love it when she grills people about stuff. It's great.
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Cooper's electoral ambition?
Cooper is a good example of how people can be pretty influential in politics/government without running for anything. It's not just about who gets elected...It's also about who those people surround themselves with.
Rendell is far from perfect, but his best moments are almost completely a result of Cooper.
All of that said....What electoral ambitions might Cooper have? I've never heard that from anywhere, so I'm interested to know. State Senate? Mayor? She's too big a fish for City Council or State Representative.
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