Liz Canada: 00:00
As you're saying all this, Devan, I really regret not making a joke about not wanting to run, but certainly willing to walk for office. And I can't believe that I dropped that ball. Devastated. What am I doing here? What's the point of having a podcast if I can't make the obvious jokes for myself? You're listening to New Hampshire Has Issues, and I'm your host from the future, Liz Canada. And in this future, it is the one-year anniversary of this little podcast. You guys, we did it! One year of issues, no end in sight. I'm so excited. So thank you for being a listener, whether this is your first ever episode. Hello, welcome. Or if you've been here from the beginning, my first episode was with Kayla Montgomery, where we wondered whether Governor Ayotte was going to sign any legislation about abortion. Hey, we've got a few weeks left. I guess we'll see soon enough. Okay, so when I started this podcast, my goal was to cover a different issue in every episode. But not just to be like, oh my god, you guys. What I wanted to do was show that these issues have not happened at random. Our state hasn't hit a series of unfortunate coincidences or really bad luck. Any of the issues we're facing in New Hampshire are here because of the actions or inactions by people in power. And so for each episode, it's not just that this issue exists, it's that the issue can change depending on what the people in power do or don't do, and depending on who are the people in power. So this is kind of a perfect episode because my guest is Devan Quinn, the director of policy at the New Hampshire Women's Foundation, and we talk about running for office. Don't turn off the podcast, don't panic. What I want you to do as you listen, I want you to think about who are the people in your life who might just need a nudge, might just need a word of encouragement to run, might need you to send them this episode, or you might say, Hey, I listened to this uh episode and it made me think of you. I think you should run for office. What you're gonna hear us talk about, are women running for office? How does it look in terms of representation? That's pretty shocking. Devan brings some receipts for us. What have women done in New Hampshire? What problems have they solved? And what does it actually mean to run for office? This episode and every episode is generously sponsored by Seacoast Soils. If you would like to support the show even more than listening, and I am very, very appreciative of you listening, you could become a monthly supporter at patreon.com slash nh has issues. And if you'd like to send me an email with your favorite episode, something you learned, something new, Newhampshire has issues at gmail.com. I would love to hear from you. All right, I wish I could send you all cake for our one year anniversary together. But instead, I'm just gonna like air high-five you. I promise you, I'm I'm high five in the air right now. So thank you for being here. And uh at the end of the episode, we have a little homework. And so I'm gonna do my homework right now and say, hey, you know what? You should run for office. You should do it. Devan, have you thought about a tagline for your episode? This one's obvious. Oh, welcome to New Hampshire Has Issues, the podcast that dares to ask. Have you considered running for office? Ah, so good. Have you considered running for office, Devan? Yeah. And then you were like, nah. No.

Devan Quinn: 03:28
I considered it. Yeah, no, of course. Um, I have to tell people all the time that they should consider themselves to run for office. And so you can't do that without putting a mirror to yourself. So yeah, no, I serve my community in a lot of different ways, but I also I lobby at the statehouse, so I can't be a legislator and a lobbyist at the same time. But you've considered it. You serve in different ways. There'll be lots of ways to serve my community, and we'll get into this later too. But like you can serve on boards and commissions and a lot of other ways too, which I think you do too, Liz, right?

Liz Canada: 04:02
I do, I do. I guess I have to have a tagline for myself. Welcome to New Hampshire Has Issues, the podcast that dares to ask who should run for office. There you go. My guest today is the director of policy at the New Hampshire Women's Foundation, Devan Quinn. Devan, thank you for being on the show.

Devan Quinn: 04:22
Thank you so much for having me, Liz. I'm so excited to be here.

Liz Canada: 04:26
I'm so glad that you're here. And you're gonna talk about all the things about running for office, and it's perfect timing. Spring is here. Flowers are allegedly popping up all over the place, and that means that it's time to think about running for office. So perhaps you can start by sharing a little bit about what New Hampshire Women's Foundation is and does.

Devan Quinn: 04:47
What do you do? Sure. So the Women's Foundation invests in opportunity and equality for the women and girls of the granite state through research, education, advocacy, and grant making. And in 2017, we launched the Women Run Program. It's the state's only nonpartisan program encouraging and training women to run for office. And the women run events give women the tools, confidence, and community they need to raise their hand and run. And it should be said that the Women's Foundation believes in an inclusive definition of women. And we recognize and affirm that any person identifying as a woman is a woman. And our women run program is for anyone who thinks it's a good fit for them in terms of running. You know, some people come and they are definitely running. Some people are thinking about it, maybe in the future, some people are on the fence, and some people say, I would never ever run, but I want to see more women in office, and they are welcome as well. It's a big tent of people coming to support women running for office.

Liz Canada: 05:48
Okay. You're talking about women running for office. I guess the maybe simple question back to you is don't we already have women in office? Haven't we done it?

Devan Quinn: 06:00
Check the box. Yeah, we checked a couple of boxes. New Hampshire has a very long history of women in very powerful, high positions in office, and we're really proud of that. And I love that about New Hampshire. We were the first state in the country to have an all-women federal delegation. So our congresspeople and our two senators and our governor were all women at the same time. That was back when uh it was Senator Jean Shaheen and Senator Kelly Ayotte and Governor Maggie Hassan, a little switcheroo since then. But also it's a state where women do really well at the presidential level as well. Hillary Clinton beat Donald Trump here, Kamala Harris beat Trump here, and Nikki Haley did very well in the primary here. She did better than her home state of South Carolina. And so we're a state that really you would think that we really like electing women and we do at the top level. But the shocking part is that when you go to the state level and the local level, that trend actually reverses. And we have fewer women at the state level and even fewer women serving at the municipal level. And that's really important for a pipeline, right? I'm worried about the next generation of our highest office if we don't have a pipeline of women coming up in the our local town, city, and state positions.

Liz Canada: 07:23
The fact that you shared about the all women delegation, first in the nation, all women delegation. Uh that's one of the points that Molly made to lure me up here. She's like, you know how great New Hampshire is. Guess what we did? I was like, oh wow. So she used that. Some would say for me, some would say against me to get me to move up here. And it worked. Here I am. Yeah.

Devan Quinn: 07:44
Well, and so now you have to run for local office.

Liz Canada: 07:47
Okay, well, Devan, as some listeners of the show met recovery. This is a big announcement here on the pod today. I am announcing. You're interviewing me. Switcheroo again. I have been on the ballot-ish as part of a slate of people for our budget recommendations committee. So I do. Oh, you have to run for a budget recommendations committee. In Exeter, it's part of where I'm on a list. So I'm on the ballot, but I'm one of, you know, eight to ten of us, I think. Okay. So it sounds like you're downplaying the fact that you are an elected official. I that's right. I am an elected official. The people have elected me. I'm first on the ballot because of alphabetical order, but there I am. I am on the budget recommendations.

Devan Quinn: 08:30
For whatever reason, you are first. Times.

Liz Canada: 08:32
It doesn't matter the reason, but you are listed first.

Devan Quinn: 08:35
Listed first. That's right. Oh, that's really cool. That's so Exeter as well to elect budget committee. And everything, every uh town is different of what they elect. So that's really cool. Congratulations on being elected. And so I've invited you here.

Liz Canada: 08:49
I wanted you to congratulate me. You did it. We're so lucky to have you. Thank you. Happy to look at spreadsheets anytime. So you're saying we do pretty well federal level, but then there are fewer women? Like, why is it that there are not as many women elected at the municipal level? What's what's going on?

Devan Quinn: 09:08
So when we look at school boards, we actually do see that women are the majority. Town school boards are 56% women and city school boards are 63% women. So that's great news and we want to keep that up. Yeah. But it's a it's a traditional place that women often enter unelected position. But then when you look at the executive positions in those cities and towns, it goes way down. So town school boards, 56% women, but town select boards 26% women. 39, 39% of towns had zero women on their select board. You're right. I did gasp. What? No. 39% of towns of all towns have no women on their select board.

Liz Canada: 09:56
Oh boy.

Devan Quinn: 09:57
Embarrassing.

Liz Canada: 09:58
Wow. So many towns have no women on their select boards.

Devan Quinn: 10:02
Yeah. A lot of select boards are small too. Um, some select boards are just three select people. And so it can be a small group. And we also find that when there aren't more women in that select board or other select boards, it can get kind of lonely. And so if you're the first woman to serve in a long time on your select board and no other surrounding towns have women on their select board, there's no one to like talk to about weird stuff that comes up or how people are talking about your hair when you're talking about a budget. You know, like so it's helpful to have more women for that camaraderie.

Liz Canada: 10:37
You mentioned hair, and I'm wondering if it's a slight criticism of my hair right now. It's it doesn't look great right now. But still, it doesn't matter because that actually doesn't influence how I am as a podcast host or as a budget recommendation committee person.

Devan Quinn: 10:51
Yeah. My my personal pet peeve is when people think they're giving a compliment, but they're still like talking about appearances. And they're like, I voted for you. I think you're wonderful, I I love your hair. And I think what you're doing for the community is great. And you're just like, why did that have to be included? Oh. I don't know.

Liz Canada: 11:09
All right. So some areas doing a lot better than others in terms of having women in office. I guess why? I mean, maybe hashtag what about men? Why do we need more women in office in the first place, Devan? Like, what's what's the big deal? Why are we talking about women in office? Aren't women the same? Aren't we?

Devan Quinn: 11:27
Aren't we all the same? Aren't we all just part of the human race? Okay, it might be obvious to some of your listeners why we need more women in office. But for those who would like the talking points to tell their friends about why we need more women in office. We know from lots of research that regardless of party, Republican, Democrat, any other party, when women serve, they're more likely to support policies that benefit women and girls. We also know that research shows that women are more likely to seek bipartisanship and compromise. And that's particularly important in New Hampshire, a purple-ish question mark state. Yeah. And I mean, beyond electoral politics, we know from so much research across industries that when you have a diversity of perspectives, making decisions, you'll come up with better outcomes and better solutions. And so diversity is really part of that. And it is so important that people run as their whole selves. And people aren't running as a woman. They're running as a woman who's a parent and who's an immigrant and who has lived in the community for 10 years and who rents their home. There's so many diverse perspectives that people bring when women, lots of women serve, lots of perspectives, will be represented and will lead to better outcomes.

Liz Canada: 12:51
All right. So I have to ask, you're saying better outcomes, but do you have any, do you have any examples? Because I feel like someone's listening to like, sure, sure, the women's foundation is here and saying that women are better. Prove it, Devan. Prove it. Hit me with some facts here.

Devan Quinn: 13:05
Sure. So a long time ago, in the old days before, you know, when people work together better, we can see it right in what year was that? Tell me what year we were in then. When people crossed aisles. So a long time ago, um, like there's still this research now, but it's not as poignant now. But um, there used to be a lot of examples of people crossing the aisle and not sticking with their party. And that hyperpartisanship at the national level has really trickled down to the states and even sometimes in communities, even when there are non-partisan positions in the first place. But you know, like the John McCain thumbs down, that was a huge moment. And it was iconic. You cross party lines. And yes, women are still more likely to do that. But I would argue the more important aspect of crossing the aisle or seeking bipartisanship or compromise is actually you're not going to be able to measure it in votes. It happens at the very beginning when people are creating solutions to problems in the first place and who they talk to and who they want to bring in when they're having those conversations. So for my example for New Hampshire is uh we recently worked on this piece of legislation called Momnibus 2.0. Momnibus, yes. Thanks. I'm always talking about it.

Liz Canada: 14:23
Thanks for letting me do it again. I think I had Ken's Nicholson on one of my first episodes. And I think we talked about it very briefly. Yeah.

Devan Quinn: 14:30
So I think this has come up a little bit, but this is a good refresher. It's been a while. Yeah. So I'm actually I probably won't go into the details of Momnibus, but I'll tell you the story and the background of it.

Liz Canada: 14:40
Do you want to give me the most top-line what is momnibus? Like what did it do?

Devan Quinn: 14:45
That's a good point. Okay. So momnibus is a play on words with omnibus bill. So an omnibus bill is a package of things. And so when you add an M, it's a package of things for moms. Yeah.

Liz Canada: 14:58
Omnibus bill means it's a bill that has a whole lot of different things in it that's used for any type of issue or topic that might be happening. That's just how it is referred to typically. And so momnibus is a play on that. Yes, great.

Devan Quinn: 15:13
Yeah. And it had um a lot of things to help moms um with uh postpartum anxiety and depression, support lines and insurance coverage for different things. And it also includes time off from work, unpaid to go to postpartum and pediatric appointments, and a few other things that really help moms, particularly in that uh really vulnerable time during pregnancy and postpartum the year after postpartum. Um, so a lot of supports for moms across the state. The first momnibus a few years ago was sponsored by Senator Becky Whitley, who is a Democrat, and she worked with uh Republican Senator Denise Rishardi and a lot of people who were Republicans and Democrats, and got the first Momnobus passed in a bipartisan fashion that wasn't really like people crossing the aisle, is that that they did the work right up front to make sure that everyone was on board who needed to be on board and that it really wasn't a partisan issue, that it was a unanimous vote every time it was voted on. Ooh, that's a huge deal. That's a big deal. Yeah. And so when things go through unanimous, it's really about the leadership of that bill. And Senator Bashardi and uh Senator Whitley were the leaders of that bill and the issue of maternal health. And so they made sure that it wasn't going to be a partisan vote by collaborating on it and making sure that it worked for everybody in the first place. And then Momnibus 2.0, which happened last year, was the same thing all over again in that Senator Whitley retired from the Senate. And so Senator Rasharty is a sponsor of Momnibus 2.0. And she partnered with Senator Sue Prentice, a Democrat. Um, so again, we had a Republican and a Democrat women leading the Momnibus 2.0. And it happened again that it was a unanimous vote every single time because they did their homework. They were leaders in their own caucuses and across the board. And we had a lot of meetings with senators and also House members, Republicans and Democrats, that I can imagine were not in the same room very often, but they were for maternal health. These meetings were lovely and so collaborative and so supportive. And people said, you know, I can talk about this at the press hearing. Well, you know, who's the best messenger for this and who can bring on board the people that we need for this vote and that vote? And it was just really collaborative and supportive. And people came at it for different reasons, for different constituencies. And that was all really well respected. And it was just a nice collaborative way to start off. That one ended up being bipartisan in the Senate as well and in the budget. And I will also say that women leaders are not just in the statehouse, they are advocates as well. And we had moms and advocates for women and girls standing outside the statehouse when they were working on the budget and it was very close to whether or not Momnibus was going to be included or not. And it's because women were connecting, moms were connecting with moms in those budget negotiations, regardless of party. Women who were in that budget negotiation were going to stick up for moms.

Liz Canada: 18:30
First of all, all the things you just described collaboration, working together, kindness, solving a problem. I feel like that's a fantasy world. And I love hearing about it, Devan. That sounds so great. That's kind of like the opposite of this whole podcast.

Devan Quinn: 18:46
That sounds wonderful. It doesn't happen all the time. So I like to think about the times that it does happen often. I mean, I have more examples of just how women will just be like, no, we're not going that way. We're just gonna do the right thing here.

Liz Canada: 18:60
Okay, Momnibus sounds like the dream, right? Like Momnibus, Momnibus 2.0. We're all working together, we're all talking to each other, we're being kind to one another. So if I am a listener who's feeling mildly skeptical, I'm like, all right, so they did one thing. Do you have any other examples of like women in office? They're doing things, they're getting stuff done.

Devan Quinn: 19:17
Yeah, yeah. So um, another thing at the Women's Foundation that we advocate for is uh menstrual equity or having access to menstrual products. And so we have worked on bills uh related to menstrual products being accessible in schools and also a bill that would make menstrual products more accessible in jails and prison.

Liz Canada: 19:38
Why is that important, Devan?

Devan Quinn: 19:40
Tell me, tell me why those things matter. Tell us. Well, the question is why aren't we asking uh why toilet paper is important? Just take it for granted.

Liz Canada: 19:49
We yes, indeed.

Devan Quinn: 19:51
I mean, plenty of budgets are passed that include toilet paper for public buildings because everybody uses toilet paper. But when half the world needs menstrual products, those things are not standard in budgets and those are special. And that's not fair. Mental products should be considered like paper towels and toilet paper, and it's just a product that's needed in schools, and I would argue um in any public place. Yeah. And when people don't have access to menstrual products, particularly students who don't have access to menstrual products, and that might be because their family can't afford it, or they haven't told their parents yet that they have started their period, or they just don't have access to them or can't afford them for their whole family. It is more likely that girls will not go to school if they don't have menstrual products. They'll just skip school that day. And school won't won't know why. Maybe their parents or guardians won't know why, but it'll be because they're worried that they won't be able to get through the day because they don't have enough menstrual products. And so we call that period poverty. And that's really keeping particularly low-income girls out of school. And we know that when girls miss school, um, and if that's on a monthly case, they're really being harmed by not having access to something that everyone should have access to and it should be readily available. We know that sometimes schools would say, well, we have it in the nurse's office. You can go to the nurse's office, but there's a huge stigma with that. You have to get to the nurse's office in the first place. So if you ask your teacher to leave the classroom, they kind of expect you back in a certain amount of minutes. But let's say the nurse's office is way across the building. Now you have to go to the nurse's office, then you have to go to the bathroom, then you have to come back to your classroom. That might set off a flag. You with your teacher, you don't want to do that. When you get to the nurse's office, you have to ask verbally for it. And so there might be other kids in the nurse's office you don't want to ask. So the most accessible thing is to just have them in every bathroom. And so we have a law that requires them to be free in all girls' and gender nonconforming or girls' bathrooms have to be in middle school and in high school. You I'd love to see if that's actually happening. I don't think it's happening in every school. So if any listeners want to tell me that they know school, it's not happening, let me know.

Liz Canada: 22:12
I mean, yeah. But also a listener who's hearing this and is like, you know, I never even thought of that as being something that could be fixed or something that was an issue that could be solved by passing a law. And that is something that can happen. You you realize, and I'm sure, I am certain that there are listeners who hear those stories about imagining a seventh-grade girl needing to go to the nurse to ask, and how that could feel really embarrassing for the seventh grader, even though it shouldn't be. Like this is just part of being a human, but that's very relatable. And so, yeah, when you are able to pass a law like that, you're solving a problem that maybe a lot of people didn't even realize existed. Or not a problem, but dare I say, an issue that many people face.

Devan Quinn: 22:57
And the idea for that bill actually started with a young woman named Caroline Dillon. Um and she worked with some legislators. She was in high school at the time, and she said she explained this problem. And so she testified and she got all things together, and like she was the catalyst for this legislation. And it was women who responded to the needs of young women. And so it was women legislators who passed it and championed it, but it was young women in our communities before they could even vote who were making change like this. Yeah. I really love that. And every year, um, someone in the House of Representatives puts in a bill to repeal that law. The argument is that it is um an unnecessary cost to municipalities to have to pay for it in schools. And you know what I'm gonna say? What are you gonna say? What about the cost of toilet paper and paper towels? Is that also an unnecessary cost? And so every year we go to testify about it. And every year there is at least one young woman who is in high school or even middle school who comes to testify. And let me tell you, if you are like, oh, I don't know if I could ever testify at the state house in front of all those representatives, I don't know what I'm talking about. I don't know if anyone would listen to me. Like, yeah, let me tell you about the not just bravery, but like kick-assness of the girls who come up and are like, no, no, I got this. I'm gonna tell them what it's like to be in seventh grade and get your period and have a stain and have to go home and have to help your friends through it. And like, it's awesome and it stops everyone in their tracks. Totally. And we have never gotten close to repealing this bill. And I will also say that it's the women on those committees who are Republican and Democrat who are like, absolutely not. I've met a girl at school. I know what's going on, I'm listening to you. And no, we won't repeal this. So you're not gonna see that in the votes. This pastime was a unanimous vote against this repeal bill in committee, but it was Democratic and Republican women speaking up and being like, no, we need this.

Liz Canada: 25:08
Yeah.

Devan Quinn: 25:09
We also had a mental uh products equity bill for prisons and jails. Essentially, the New Hampshire prison did it pretty well, but the jails weren't doing it well. So the New Hampshire prison made sure that everyone at the state uh prison for women got the products that they needed at the beginning of the month and they could ask for how many they wanted and they managed them it themselves for the rest of the month. But in jails, uh, some jails, you would have to ask a CEO or corrections officer anytime you needed one product, one tampon or one pad. Wow. And so that is a huge issue of an imbalance of power, right? And so totally if you think about the Prison Rape Elimination Act, PRIA, that is all about addressing these areas of imbalance of power where the abuse of that power could be used to harass or uh sexually assault inmates. And so this is like an obvious place where if you are in need of a pad or a tampon, and you have to ask a CEO each time, and they say, Well, I'm busy right now. Well, I gotta do this. Well, you know, like what favors are it do I need to do in order to get the products that I need? You put them in a position that can really be taken advantage of. And so the standard is really to do it the way that the state prison was doing. We had a bill, and I worked with um American Friends Service Committee and um my friend Ophelia Burnett, who was a leading advocate on this bill. And again, there was a House bill and there was a Senate bill, and the Senate bill got to judiciary, um, and it was again Senator Um Becky Whitley's bill. And it was Senator Carson, a Republican in that judiciary, who really like set the tone right away when we introduced this bill, and she said, this is about dignity. And I'll always remember her saying, This is about dignity.

Liz Canada: 27:10
I could hear her say it. I could just imagine her saying it. Yeah.

Devan Quinn: 27:13
And um, I think in New Hampshire and the state legislature, um, a lot of people are really concerned about uh what things cost. And we had some folks saying this is gonna cost jails more, more money. And, you know, our argument was if it's costing you more money, it's because you're giving out more pads and tampons, which is proving that you weren't giving out enough in the first place. So and so when you look at those votes, they're unanimous and that bill passed to make it more equitable in jails, but it passed because of the tone that was set, because at the time she was the chair of that committee, she set the tone that this was about dignity of women, and so no one else uh really pushed back against that.

Liz Canada: 27:52
All right, so you brought some receipts with you, Devan. If the percentages in the municipalities and in the state house and so forth are lower than the federal level, does this mean that people aren't voting for women? Like what's what's happening, Devan?

Devan Quinn: 28:05
Women do great, uh, and they're not elected, so are people not voting for them? I get this question a lot. Like, are people is there a bias in voting? Yeah. And the answer is no. People vote for women. It's just that women aren't running in the first place.

Liz Canada: 28:18
Uh-oh.

Devan Quinn: 28:19
Women are just as likely to win as men. But women are not running as frequently as men. So when we have more men on the ballot, more men are gonna win. Even if 50% of women win, 50% of men win, if you have more men on the ballot, more men are gonna win. So we need to recruit more women to run. We need to ask more women to run in the first place, because they'll win. If they run, they will win.

Liz Canada: 28:44
So why aren't there already more women running for office? Like you will you can be a winner. You will be a winner. So, like, why aren't women running? Like now.

Devan Quinn: 28:54
Yeah. So many people, I mean, if you're voting for women, you're you're saying, no, I'm voting for women. Everyone I know is voting for women. Why aren't women running in the first place then? So many social phenomena based in centuries of sexist, misogynist landscape here.

Liz Canada: 29:09
Does that happen? Really? Is that a thing that goes on? Sexism? Never heard of it. I don't know. Not the million. That's another that's another podcast.

Devan Quinn: 29:18
Oftentimes. Well, I'll say often or frequently, because this isn't the case for every woman, everyone has their own experience. But if we're talking about getting lots of women elected, we often hear that women don't see themselves as candidates as frequently as men might see themselves as candidates. So we have so many examples of women who come to us and say, Well, I heard that someone was going to retire from the school board and we needed someone else to fill in and and run for that seat. And I had been recruiting all over town to find someone who would run and no one would do it. And I asked seven different people. And then finally, someone said, Why don't you run? Ah, right. Women trying to recruit other people to run. And sometimes they just need a mirror held up and say, You should run. You don't have to look out the window, folks.

Liz Canada: 30:06
Let's look in the mirror at our own shelves. Yeah.

Devan Quinn: 30:09
Another reason that women don't run as often is that they think they perceive themselves to be underqualified. I hear all the time. I hear all the time that people say, Oh, well, I I couldn't understand, you know, a school budget or a state budget, or I'm not a lawyer, or, you know, I've only lived in this town for 10 years.

Liz Canada: 30:32
Or I'm gonna jump in for a second, Devan, because those things all happen for promotions as well and jobs. Bingo. And looking at job descriptions and being like, well, I don't have 100% of the qualifications here, so therefore I can't do it. And other types of people will look at a job description and say, Well, I've got 30% of these things, I'm going for it, baby.

Devan Quinn: 30:55
And then they get it. Yes. That is exactly the example that I use all the time to explain this is that yes, uh, an organization puts out a job description, a woman looks at the job description, she says, Oh, I only meet 70% of the job qualifications. I'm not qualified. She doesn't apply. A man looks at the same job uh application, sees that he's he has 70% of the job qualification, says, I'm qualified, and he applies. And guess who gets the job? A man, because that's all that the company saw as applicants. That's all, so it's the same thing. The voters only see the people who choose to put themselves on the ballot. So they're only offered, if they're not offered more women to vote for, because women aren't running for office and they can't vote for them.

Liz Canada: 31:42
Listener, you are totally qualified to run for office. I promise you, you are qualified. I'm on a budget recommendations committee. What does it take to be someone who could be on a budget recommendations committee? Someone who cares about their town. That's it. That is the only qualification you need. You gotta live here and care about it. Some people might not even care about it, but you have to live here. That's it. That's the only qualification.

Devan Quinn: 32:05
Yeah.

Devan Quinn: 32:06
You just have to care.

Liz Canada: 32:06
If you care about your community, you'll do a great job. Okay, so what does it actually mean to run for office? We've been talking about the policies that have been passed, the fights that have been had, the advocacy, the numbers, the percentages of women in office in New Hampshire. But like, let's maybe demystify it a little bit. Like, what does it actually mean to run for office?

Devan Quinn: 32:29
There's a lot of different ways you can run for office, and a lot of depends on what you're running for. Um, and even before that, I'll say there's lots of ways to serve your community, and some of them are not even elected. In your town or city, there might be a lot of positions that are appointed, and they really just need someone to raise their hand and say, I would love to serve on the sidewalk committee. I would love to serve on the child care commission. Zoning board is in some places elected, in some places appointed. And I mean, sometimes they'll say, Oh, the mayor has to appoint. You don't need to know the mayor. You need to send an email and say, I'm interested in serving on this committee. And they're usually really excited for people to raise their hand because there's not enough people. Also, if you go on your town website, there's usually a list of vacancies where they're looking for people to serve their community in that way. So if you're saying, like, I don't know if I'd run for office ever, maybe someday in the future, well, guess what? You can serve your community right now on one of these committees or commissions because there are vacancies and they need you right now. If you think like, oh, let's say that the ZBA, the zoning board of adjustment, that sounds, I don't know, you've never been in front of the ZBA before. Maybe you have, maybe you're intimidated by that. There's also opportunities for alternates. A lot of times they're looking for alternates. Good point. Which means that you are not a voting member unless someone calls out and they need someone to fill in. And so it's a great way to learn and you sit through all of the meetings and listen and watch and learn and then jump in and vote, and you are an active member if someone's gone. But also you don't have to be an alternate before you're a full member because there are so many organizations, particularly the municipal association, that will give you lots of resources on how to do a lot of these things, like ZBA or Planning Board or all these other things that might be appointed or might be elected, but there are resources for you to utilize to figure it out. And then there's running for office. Sometimes showing up really gets your foot in the door. Sometimes there are elected bodies, let's say the ZBA or the school board, where someone would like to, would like to retire. They'd like to come off. They've they've done 15 years on the school board and they're ready to cycle off at the next one. They don't want to run for re-election, but they need to, they need to make sure that, you know, it's going to be in good hands. Sure. And so a lot of times people are always only running because they don't know who else would do it. They haven't recruited someone else to do it. And sometimes if you show up to a couple of school board meetings, they'll be like, who are you? Nobody shows up. Thank you for showing up. Who is this person? Yes, yes, tall us more. And would you like to be a school board member? Because I'd like to not run school boards and you care. I mean, truly, so many people who have come to our women run programs have have said, I went to a couple of meetings and they asked me to run. And so it it is much more accessible than you think it is. Um, and even if there isn't a vacancy or an empty slot, like you can just figure out when people are ready to cycle off and let some new blood come in. Showing up matters. Turns out Turns out. Turns out.

Liz Canada: 35:42
Big plot twist. Showing up can make a difference.

Devan Quinn: 35:45
But also, you know, it depends if you're running at the local level. Yeah. Our women run program is nonpartisan for many good reasons. The most important one is that most people, a lot of people, particularly in New Hampshire, a lot of women in New Hampshire are not partisan. And they are in, they don't like the idea of running for a partisan office. And almost all towns and city positions are nonpartisan. And so that is a much more accessible way to run if you do not want to put a party next to your name or that's not that doesn't feel comfortable. I mean, if you are very aligned with a party, you can still run for local office. Um, they're just nonpartisan, they're legally nonpartisan positions on the ballot. And so that's also another thing to consider and think about. So let's say you're running for city council or you're running for state rep. It depends on if you have an opponent, it depends if you have a primary, if you're running for a state level race. And so at some point, maybe you do need to think about canvassing and knocking doors and talking to people. I would always suggest uh going to any forums you're invited to, any filling out any candidate questionnaires so that people get to know you. In New Hampshire, it's impossible for you to have not seen political yard signs. So maybe you want to get some yard signs and make them legible so that people can read them. You don't have to put your face on it. Some might say, maybe don't. At some point, maybe you want to send a mailer, maybe you want to make phone calls, maybe you want to put out um some letters to the editor. Um, but at some point, if you are have an opponent um and if you're running at a higher level, maybe you want to at that point reach out to other organizations, including the party. If it's a partisan position, go ahead and reach out to your party. You know, if you are a Democratic woman running for office, you should reach out to the Democratic Party. If you're a Republican woman running for office, you should reach out to the Republican Party. But also uh your party or other affinity groups in your town would be really helpful too. Even if it's a nonpartisan office, you certainly don't need to reach out to a town party committee. Um, but if you want to and that feels comfortable, then you could definitely reach out there too. So anything that you're affiliated with is helpful in getting out the word. You know, if you're in a neighborhood community or a parent association or a board, you know, let people know that you're running. Let them know so that they show up and vote for you. Don't be afraid to tell them.

Liz Canada: 38:19
I think that is something that is probably also a barrier, is maybe feeling a little bit like, well, I I don't want to say it out loud, but I don't want to brag that I'm on the budget committee. I think probably folks get embarrassed when they're thinking about it. They're they're nervous about sort of like pitching it. Maybe they're worried about what the reply might be.

Devan Quinn: 38:38
It can be nerve-wracking to put yourself out there saying like, I don't know, starting anything new, it can be scary and feel like a little imposter syndrome-y. But one important thing for running for office is that people will often thank you for running for office. You know, when you say like, I'm really getting into cycling, people aren't gonna be like, thank you for getting into cycling. You know, that's just for you. But when you're running for office, you're there to serve people, you're there to serve your community because you care about your community and people understand that. That's so true. People understand that you're serving your community. So you can feel however you need to feel about it, but but you're doing a service. Again, you might be weird to have your name on a sign in front of your house, but people also remember that you are serving your community, and that is a really generous, good use of your time that people appreciate.

Liz Canada: 39:30
So it's April 2026. A listener is hearing our chit-chat and thinks, all right, maybe I can do something like this. Is it too late? Or what can a listener do in this moment if they're even just thinking about maybe someday running for office? It's never too late.

Devan Quinn: 39:51
It's never too late.

Liz Canada: 39:53
It's New Hampshire.

Devan Quinn: 39:55
We love elections. Oh my god. Well, first of all, dear listener of New Hampshire Has Issues, if you're listening to New Hampshire Has Issues, then you obviously care about your community. So you have just proved to me that you are qualified to run for office.

Liz Canada: 40:12
This has been a long game, everyone. I have hosted this podcast just for you who's listening right now. I am asking you personally to run for office. You didn't realize that when I started this out, but this was just for you. You're the one we've been looking for. You are. And here you are. You should do it. You should do it. You should run. You should definitely run. What are we waiting for? Why not? If not you, then who? You're exceptionally qualified. You're ready. You can do this. All right. So how do they do it?

Devan Quinn: 40:38
What does a person do in this moment? So the year is 2026, and that's an even year. And in even years, we in New Hampshire vote for our federal offices. So that's Congress people, and we vote for people at the state level. So governor and state senate and state house. And executive counsel. You knew I wouldn't let you get away with that one, Devan. And if you would like to know about these positions, please refer to earlier episodes of New Hampshire has Issues. Covered all of them. There's one for every position. That's right. And there are also county positions. So that's like county sheriff, county commissioner, county treasurer. So federal, state, and county level is every even year. Those are partisan elections. And that's when we have a general election in November. We have a state primary election. We'll backing up in September. And in order to run this September and November, you must file to run for office. And that filing period for all of those positions I just mentioned is between June 3rd and June 12th. Therefore, you must file by June 12th. If you would like to run for federal, state, or county office in 2026.

Liz Canada: 41:52
June 3rd to June 12th, you have to file. Okay, so I'm running for state house. No, I'm not. Don't quote me. But running for state house, how do I file to run for state house?

Devan Quinn: 42:02
So it's different for different positions, but at state house, and you can actually do that in your town. Okay. And it's uh whopping $2 to file. So fundraise, do what you gotta do to make that mark. 2% of your annual salary is a state rep. Yeah, that's right. That's right. And uh join the women run program before and after to get ready to file, to announce, to talk to people ahead of time, to know what you're getting into, to get some training, encouragement, but also to build a community. Because when you start something new, you're never gonna know everything right at the beginning. And so, yeah, there are a million resources, but even more important than resources is community and knowing other people who are running for office is really helpful. So you can be like, oh my God, did you know about this? Oh my goodness, someone said this to me. What am I supposed to how do I respond to that? You know, just having a community to go through this for the first time is really helpful too.

Liz Canada: 43:00
And on the odd number years, what can somebody do?

Devan Quinn: 43:03
And on the odd number of years in 2025, and then next year in 2027, on odd number of years, uh, we have city elections. And those are some cities have a little bit different, but they are also usually in November. And then if you live in a town, if you do not live in one of the 13 cities, but instead you live in the um one of the 200 plus towns in New Hampshire, there are town elections every year. And this gets a little wonky. Usually town elections are in March on town meeting day or town election day, but sometimes they're not.

Liz Canada: 43:44
Generally speaking, around the springtime, the town elections happen.

Devan Quinn: 43:48
But I would say most towns um have a filing deadline in January. So that's when you're gonna want to pay attention to your town filing deadline in order to run in March, um, with some exceptions. And then And the positions you can run um in your town are totally different. We talked about them, some of them earlier, but select board, school board, some people elect their town clerk or tax collector, some people have elect their library trustees, some people appoint them. There's water commissioner, moderator, supervisor of the checklist, lots of things to run in for your in town or be appointed to. And some things also are on different years. And so maybe the school board has six people and they elect two of them every year. So a full slate will only be elected over the course of three years. So sometimes you only see two positions on the ballot, but there are six total positions. So that's something to keep in mind if you're trying to figure out when to run or who's running, who's not running. Generally, if you're running at the town level, pay attention to file in January. If you're running at the city level, pay attention to run in the late spring summertime. And if you're planning to run at the state or federal level, that's in June of this year. And you should run. And you should run. After you turn off the podcast, I would encourage us all to think of three women in your life who should run for office.

Liz Canada: 45:14
Ooh, homework. Okay, yeah.

Devan Quinn: 45:16
Homework, yes. Uh think of three women in your life who should run for office. They can be in New Hampshire or not in New Hampshire. They can be your very best friend or your wife, or they could be someone you happen to see in the parent pickup line and you barely know them, or they can be your barista, whatever it is. Think of three women who should run for office and why and why you've seen them care about their community. Or maybe they're a good listener, or maybe they know a lot of people, or maybe they're new to town. And so that fresh perspective would be helpful. Um, and then figure out when you're gonna tell them to run for office because you actually have to do it. You can't just think of them. And you can use this as your excuse. You can be like, I listened to this silly little podcast. Silly little podcast episode, maybe think of you. And they said, think of a woman to run for office, and I'm just doing my homework, and I thought you should run for office. So use it as an excuse to encourage a woman to run for office. That's your homework. That's excellent. To be clear, the silly little podcast is me on the podcast. Not New Hampshire has issues.

Liz Canada: 46:21
When you were talking earlier about how folks you need to say that you're running for office, I don't tell people I have a podcast. I learned the other day I'm supposed to tell people.

Devan Quinn: 46:31
I think you just blame it on other people. When you're uncomfortable with something, you blame it on someone else. It's gonna be like my wife Molly was just like, you just have to do it. And so I did it. And I'll just issues, just blame it on someone else. It's a good idea. People were knocking down my door all the time. So I was just like, all right, fine, I'll give you a microphone.