Perdue blazed a new trail

Over the last three years, a lot of the wind has been knocked out of Bev Perdue's brash boast on the night she broke through the glass ceiling and became North Carolina's first female governor. She said: "I'm going to bring a fresh start to North Carolina. There's a new sheriff in town, and she knows how to do business."

But she had trouble getting her six-shooter out of the holster from the start. She had a mess on her hands when she took the reins of state government in 2009. The nation was in a deep recession, and North Carolina had insufficient revenues to handle the downturn.

Her public approval rating plummeted to 25 percent just three months after she got into office, and it has never been above 40 percent since then. And since Republicans took control of the N.C. legislature in 2010, she has fought an uphill battle to get a lot done, though she has wielded one big weapon — the veto — more times than any previous N.C. governor to try to overcome her disadvantage.

The bad economy, and her handling of it, no doubt factored into Perdue's difficulties. But her decision not to seek re-election only highlights an issue that's getting national attention this year — the decline in the number of women in political office. The 2012 Project, launched by the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, last year initiated a large-scale public-education campaign to raise awareness about the lack of women in elected office and made direct outreach to executive-level, accomplished women who have not previously considered running for office.

According to the center, the number of women in Congress has dropped to 16 percent, and the number of women in state legislatures declined by nearly 80 seats since the last election, the sharpest drop in nearly four decades. Internationally, the U.S. ranks 67th in women's representation politically. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said she would not return if President Obama is elected to a second term.

Perdue is one of just six female governors in the U.S. That number is down two from the eight it was when Perdue was elected. Perdue is also one of just 34 women to ever have served as chief executive of a U.S. state.

N.C. Rep. Tricia Cotham of Mecklenburg, chair of the N.C. legislature's Democratic Women's Caucus, says the decline in females has been felt in the N.C. legislature too. There are 38 females in the N.C. legislature now. That's down from 47 in 2009-2010. And with retirements and redistricting, Cotham expects an even further decline.

One key reason is that political office is not very welcoming to female politicians. "Politics is a hard business. It takes strong people, regardless of gender," she said.

But for women, "there are so many obstacles, especially if you have young children," Cotham said. The expectation for women to juggle family and work issues along with service in a $13,000-a-year job in the legislature is much different than for men. "We (women lawmakers) often joke that we need a wife," Cotham said.

Cotham is the youngest woman ever to serve in the legislature. She has gotten married since she became a legislator, and recently had a baby. She and Rep. Susi Hamilton of New Hanover are the only female legislators with young children. Hamilton has an 8-year-old.

Cotham's experience of bringing her child with her to the legislature — something male lawmakers don't do — and the attendant multi-tasking it requires underscore the challenges that women can face. That's probably why many females turn to political office only after they've retired and their children are adults.

Cotham said Perdue has been actively trying to change that by encouraging women to seek political office and mentoring those already serving. "I'm grateful to the governor for blazing the trail and setting a positive example," Cotham said.

Perdue's example has been noted, and her legacy is substantial. She has been elected or re-elected nine times since winning her first election to the N.C. House of Representatives. She served two terms in the N.C. House, five terms in the N.C. Senate and two terms as lieutenant governor before being elected governor four years ago.

Her election was the most ground-breaking for a female in North Carolina since the first woman, Lillian Exum Clement, was elected to the N.C. General Assembly in 1920. But it could be a while before another female gets the top N.C. job. No one appears to be even waiting in the wings right now.