by Alison Oatman
It was standing room only at the Women’s Day Proclamation held at the Ventura City Council meeting on Monday, March 4th. After an historic election, four female council members—Sofia Rubalcava, Lorrie Brown, Cheryl Heitmann, and Christy Weir—are now on the city council, making the council the first majority female one in Ventura’s history.
Ventura Deputy Mayor Rubalcava encouraged the mostly female audience—who was dressed in onion-like layers of white in honor of the suffragettes that fought for women’s voting rights—to run for office, join groups and get involved in their communities.
International Women’s Day on March 8th is a global day that celebrates the advancement of women and stands up against gender discrimination.
Women’s rights activist and UU Church of Ventura member Diana Goodrow was on the scene at City Hall on Monday night.
“I came because it was an historic evening and I didn’t want to miss it,” she said. “I have been involved in addressing women’s equality issues for a very, very long time, and last night was special to me.”However, this is hardly the time to give up the fight for women’s rights and declare victory. “This is only a very small step in addressing women’s equality concerns,” Goodrow concluded, “but it is a beginning.”
