When I don’t support the woman candidate…

When I don’t support the political candidate who is a woman, I feel guilty.

I am a student of politics, and nothing makes me happier then getting down and dirty in a campaign or internship.  I am also a staunch feminist;  ironically, I have never worked or even volunteered for a woman candidate/politician.

Mostly this is due to the simple lack of female candidates, but also that the opportunities I have been given all happen to be under male politicians.  And through these opportunities, I have been exposed to the amazing women who work for them, behind the scenes, making the wheels turn.  I know that this is a trend for women in politics, who tend to do more of the background and hands-on work in political campaigns/offices.  But the ones I’ve met often don’t want to be in the spotlight, and love what they do.  However, whenever I meet an amazing woman working for a male politician, I am always a little sad that they aren’t the ones running for office.

Along these lines, I feel really awkward when there is a female candidate whom I don’t support.   This is exactly where I find myself right now.  I was born and raised in Portland, OR, and there is currently a mayoral race going on.  Our current mayor, Sam Adams, has decided not to run for re-election, probably due to his increasing unpopularity and a sex scandal early on in his term.  Now there are three mayoral candidates running for his spot, Charles Hales, Eileen Brady and Jefferson Smith.  They are all Democrats (Portland hasn’t had a Republican mayor since 1981, they don’t even run a candidate anymore), and are probably all good, progressive people.  But here’s my issue:  I don’t really like Brady, and I’m supporting Smith.  And this makes me feel guilty.

When it comes down to it, it’s really an issue of business vs. populist values; Brady’s biggest claim to fame is that she and her husband helped start New Seasons Market, an over-priced but delicious healthy/sustainable/equitable grocery store.  Smith on the other hand is a quirky and inspiring man who started The Bus Project which is an organization entirely dedicated to getting young people to help register voters/get out the vote.  It has been extremely successful in Oregon, and many other states are copying the model.  Jefferson is known for finding intelligent and capable people, and putting them to use.  He is a man of the people, hands on, and is amazing at rallying a crowd.  He is the only candidate I have ever met who openly acknowledges and discusses the need for Social Justice and the racism/racial disparity in Portland.  I am thrilled to be supporting him and volunteering for his campaign.  If you love a good speech about what needs to happen in politics, check out this.

And yet, I still feel a little guilty.  Part of me feels like if there is a progressive woman in a political race, I should support her.  My experiences in Oregon politics confirm this feeling, because I know we need more women in office.

But I don’t want a business-leader running my city.  I want a populist and an activist.  That is why I am supporting Jefferson Smith.

Have you ever run into this problem?  Do you find yourself supporting candidates who are men, even when there are progressive women in the race?  Do you also struggle with the guilt?  Is it more important to have women in office, or to have the most progressive candidate in office?