SANDY — Erin Vogeler said political activism is "in her blood."

Her mother, Neka Roundy, served as mayor of Kaysville City for four years, ending in 2010, and Vogeler remembers attending many events and hearing about issues affecting the city her mother officiated.

"I feel confident and empowered that I can make a difference," she said.

Vogeler was one of more than a hundred women who attended an all-day conference hosted by Real Women Run, a collaborative nonpartisan initiative to empower women to participate in public life and civic leadership through elected political office.

What emerged were lessons on balancing public service and family life and honoring the commitment leaders make to both.

"We need to represent and reflect what our population is. And women make up more than half of the population," said Lisa Watts Baskin, a founding member of Real Women Run and a former North Salt Lake city councilwoman. "I would like to see more women running for office."

Real Women Run offers support to women who wish to run for office and because 2015 is a year for municipal elections in Utah, the organization hopes to encourage more representation from women.

In 2014, Utah ranked 45th among state legislatures for the percentage of women elected to the state's House of Representatives and Senate, but that was before losing one seat. Sixteen women will serve in Utah's 104-member Legislature, which begins its annual session Jan. 26.

Women, Baskin said, face various other demands, including career and family, but also sometimes lack confidence or don't feel they have the opportunity to put themselves out there.

"You can do this. You can lead and serve in the public," she said. "You think now is not a good time, but before you know it, you're 60 and you didn't do it."

Balancing family life

Jenny Wilson, a second-term Salt Lake City councilwoman who has worked on multiple campaigns and even campaigned to become Salt Lake City's mayor in 2007, said political life "is hard on a family." But she has learned to manage it.

"You have to know what you're getting into," she said. "What we're doing matters and you can use that to educate your children and their friends and value those teaching moments."

Bluffdale city councilwoman, Heather Pehrson, said she didn't have other family members or many friends in the area when she decided to run for her seat. With four small children, she campaigned in late afternoons and evenings when her husband could be home.

"It's not just throwing your name into a hat. You are stepping with your full soul and body into the arena, with lions even," she said.

But, Pehrson counseled attendees at the conference that "campaigns are terminal experiences," and the real fun comes with taking political office and being involved in policymaking.

"There have been wondrous opportunities and experiences for me and for my children, once I was elected," she said.

John Edwards said his wife's decision to run and serve has made them closer. Rep. Becky Edwards, R-North Salt Lake, was elected in 2009 and John Edwards has joked that he's her "arm candy" at official functions when he's invited.

"I like the pulse of a season and the session is the season," he said. "I'm very proud of her decision to do this."

His wife's office, John Edwards said, is a "great example for the kids in our neighborhood and is empowering for the young women to see this."

A listening ear

Midvale Mayor JoAnn Seghini said women can be better than men at listening and are typically more empathetic and understanding, which can be beneficial when serving a populace.

"Raising a family is not easy, you do a lot of negotiating for your family and you do a lot of negotiating in politics," she said. "Just like you hear a lot about children needing both parents to grow up well, communities need men and women."

Seghini began her political service as a member of the Midvale Planning Commission and served three terms as a city councilwoman. She was elected as mayor in 1998 and is serving her fourth term.

She said she serves to give a voice to people in her community who can't or don't speak up or serve in office themselves.

"People have their passions and this has always been one of mine," Vogeler said, adding that she's always been interested in being more involved in the communities in which she lives and has learned much from attending Real Women Run events held throughout the year. The next training will be March 28, at the University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics, focusing on forging a successful campaign.

"It's important to recognize that you have something to offer," Wilson said. "You just run with that."

Related topics